Damascus, Syria

Well, here are some nice postcards, in order to make a closure of something that was a tiring but lovely weekend!

Silvan again prepared a splendid surprise for my mailbox, this time sending me a postcard from Syria, and no more or less, but a railway related one!!!!
This here is the Al-Hijaz (or Hejaz) Railway Station in Damascus, a very magnificent Ottoman Building. Even though this station is no longer in use, it still makes such a perfect postcard and such a thoughtful surprise!
The Hejaz railway ran from Damascus to Medina, through the Hejaz region of Arabia, with a branch line to Haifa, on the Mediterranean Sea. It was a part of the Ottoman railway network and was built in order to extend the previously existing line between Istanbul and Damascus all the way to the holy city of Mecca (eventually being able to reach only Medina due to the interruption of the construction works caused by the outbreak of World War I).

the stamp on the left is a definitive issued in 2009, representing President Bashar Al-Assad, while the other one was issued in 2006 in a set of 3 Fauna stamps, representing fish from Syria

Gaustatoppen, Norway

Ha! Another lovely, fantastic, breath-taking view from Norway sent from dear Sissel.

Gaustatoppen is the highest mountain in the county Telemark in Norway. The first element is Gausta, the name of the whole mountain, the last element is the finite form of topp m 'top, summit'.
The mountain is popular for downhill skiing in winter, and competitions have been held on its slopes. These competitions include the "Norseman triathlon", 'Norseman Xtreme Triathlon, billed as "the world's most brutal iron-distance triathlon. It starts in Eidfjord and finishes at the top of Gaustatoppen."

These Norwegian images simply have that kind of so-beautiful-that-it-hurts feeling.

And speaking of Norway, I must share or rather brag with something i bought myself yesterday at the book-fair in Belgrade.

First is this lovely Norway Insight Guide

It has plentiful of amazing pictures...and lots and lots of historic/cultural/traditional facts and figures, so it is not just like a what-you-should-see kind of guide, but goes much beyond that, and I simply couldnt resist it :P
Here is more info in case someone's interested

And the other thing which is sort of related here is a book called the True North, by Gavin Francis.

It's a book about this man's journey that starts in the Shetland Isles and then takes him to the Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, Svalbard and eventually Lapland. Francis reflects o how Arctic Europe i adapting to the challenges of the 21st century, including the threat of climate change, and provides sharply observed insights into the lives of the people he encounters along the way.

Here is a newspaper article regarding this book and also a small extract.
Ahhh, im soo happy i got these two that I honestly dont know which one to start with...or i may read them both simultaneously, I dont know...but I just cant wait to start :)

and on top all the beauty, here is a train stamp too! It was issued in 2009 in a set of 6 stamps representing tourism, with this one showing Bergensbanen...the other stamps are definitives, but i cant tell exactly when were they issued.

Kansas Musem of History, USA

This great card came again as a surprise sent from Naomi on the behalf of dear Tina who knows just how much I love trains! Thanks sooo much to both of you <3

Built in 1880, Engine No.132 is the oldest locomotive from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. After a long career as freight locomotive and switch engine, it became part of a corporate show train as the "Cyrus K.Holiday". The restored train now stands in the Kansas Museum of History.

and apart from the American clock stamp you all know well, there are another two really cute commemorative ones issued this year under the title Sunday Funnies. The whole set consists of 5 stamps, and the two designs here show Calvin and Hobbes (right) which captures the precocious 6-year-old and his tiger pal making scary and ridiculous faces, while the one on the left shows Garfield and Ollie, standing back to back.

Tylö, Sweden

A great card from Sweden I received in the Scandinavian tag.

The card says to show ski tracks in Tylö.....which I found confusing since I dont really see the possibility for someone to ski at THIS particular piece of land...but then maybe this is just a part of some big skiing track that's behind the camera actually.
However, not a word about the lighthouse, and I couldnt find anything related to it (or i might have been doing wrong searches)....but it still makes a great card and a wonderful addition to my lighthouse collection, thanks to Merja.

I dont get Swedish cards often so i dont get the chance to often see Swedish stamps...and the ones here are really nice.
The stamp on the left, above the priority sticker, is a part of 4 stamps issued this year representing Swedish food. The stamp next to it is a World Heritage one from 2005, showing the Skogskrykogarden Cemetery, while the stamp below it is from 2008, from a set of 4 stamps representing Swedish trees, with this one showing a Juniper.

Japan

My last card for today is an official one from Japan.

JP-96114

It is a very nice and interesting card, but all I know is what the sender told me and that is that this is an old traditional style of Japanese art. But what did she mean exactly, I have no idea....I can just guess and say what I may think according to what ive come across...but in order not to say something totally silly, ill keep my lips sealed :)

There is something written in Japanese on the front of the  card, but with my level of knowledge of this language, no way I can decipher it :)

So, feel free to submit an opinion or fact in case you got some.

and here is how the Japanese postal stickers look like...so even there they can be in lack of stamps I guess...

Pitsunda cathedral, Abkhazia

Do I hear someone's teeth cringe? :D Well, let me spoil the surprise right away for you...the card aint written and stamped :) Though if all the cards from Abkhazia are like this, I doubt anyone could send them written and stamped....you know, the ones which have text all over the back and it aint possible to write a name or address...

This is the Pitsunca Cathedral, a Georgian Orthodox Cathedral located in Pitsunda, in the Gagra district of the de facto independent Republic of Abkhazia, internationally recognised to constitute a part of Georgia.
You will pardon me, but the comprehension of the politics and the countries' divisions and recognitions, dont go well with me....all I know is that Abkhazia (along with South Ossetia and Transnistria) seem fascinating to me....places I know soo little of, or almost nothing.

Pitsunda Cathedral was built at the end of the 10th century by King Bagrat III of Georgia. It served as the seat of the Georgian Orthodox Catholicate of Abkhazia until the late 16th century when Abkhazia came under the Ottoman hegemony. The cathedral contains vestiges of wall-painting from the 13th and the 16th centuries.

Looks like a lovely place, surrounded with nice nature!

Vegetables in jars

Dear Erin sent me this lovely surprise...one of the lovely Nouvelles Images..this time representing you something so typical for this time of year...some vegetables in a jar!

I say typical, coz people are making their winter supplies right now, something we call туршија.. in English I think the right word would be 'brine'. In many Macedonian homes you can find jars and jars of brine in their basements....so many vegetables at one place..tomatoes, peppers, pickles, carrots....not a vegetable lover, so im not fond of eating it...but looking at it in jars like this, looks so appealing :))))

Speaking of so-called winter food...I dont know if you had tried Ajvar....but if you come to Macedonia, there is NO way you leave without tasting it, and without a jar or two to take back with you home :)
I used to totally dislike this....but got hooked on it some years ago...i wonder how could've i avoided something so delicious for so long!
If you are curious to read what's ajvar, you can read more about it here.

Merci beaucoup Erin! Ill keep a jar of ajvar for you! :)

Symi Island, Greece

my dear Nastya got the chance to again visit Greece this summer...this time the Rhodos Island and as always sent me some lovely postcards, among which is this one from the Symi Island...and which I must admit looks magnificent!

Symi is mountainous Greek Island and includes the harbor town of Symi and its adjacent upper town Ano Symi.
In Greek mythology, Symi is reputed to be the birthplace of the Charites and to take its name from the nymph Syme (in antiquity the island was known as Aigli and Metapontis), though Pliny the Elder and some later writers claimed it came from the word scimmia meaning a monkey. In Homer's Iliad the island is mentioned as the domain of King Nireus, who fought in the Trojan War on the side of the Greeks. Thucydides writes that during the Peloponnesian War there was a Battle of Syme near the island in January, 411 BC, in which an unspecified number of Spartan ships defeated a squadron of Athenian vessels. Little is known of the island until the 14th century, but archaeological evidence indicates it was continuously inhabited, and ruins of citadels suggest it was an important location. It was first part of the Roman Empire and then the Byzantine Empire, until its conquest by the Knights of St. John in 1373.

This reminds me that I havent finished reading the Greek Mythology book I started a few months ago...

just today Nastya asked me about the stamps...and unfortunately, this one bears no cancellation either. The stamp was issued this year in an issue of 5 stamps regarding the New Acropolis Museum, and this stamp shows the Parthenon Frieze.

A thing I MUST mention and which makes me happy is that my cards came written with the name Republic Macedonia untouched, not a line scribbled over, not a word added...

Большое спасибо дорогая Настя! <3

Dublin, Ireland

Funny, but out of the Irish cards I have posted, this is my first one showing Dublin.

At this picture for some reason, it reminds me a lot of Belgrade.

This is the O'Connel Street in Dublin, located in the heart of the city, considered as one of Europe's widest streets, which measures 49 m in width at its southern end, 46 m at the north, and is 500 m long.
Known as 'Sackville Street' until 1924, Dublin Corporation renamed it in honour of Daniel O'Connell, a nationalist leader of the early nineteenth century whose statue stands at the lower end of the street, facing O'Connell Bridge.

Raz Point, France

Well, here is a lighthouse for today's final post.

the back of the card say "The Vieille lighthouse submitted to the never-ending fury of the sea"

The Raz Point or Pointe du Raz is a promontory that extends into the Atlantic from western Brittany, in France.
It is named after the Raz de Sein, the dangerous stretch of water between it and the island of Sein.

Im just not sure where is the cook rushing too...rushing away from the waves, rushing home to make lunch...if she continues at this pace, not much would be left to make lunch with :P

The Versatile Blogger Award!

I was sort of speechless when I found out I was nominated for this by my dear friend Zarah at her Postcardscrossing blog. Ive never been given such an award before, at least not that i know of, so when I found this out I felt both honoured and thrilled! Thank you so much amiga!

well, here it is:

and there are some rules that have to be met once you receive this:

* Be sure to thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.
* Share 7 things about yourself.
* Pass the award to other bloggers who you think deserve it.
* Be sure to let the bloggers know you chose them to receive the award.

well, number 1 is done, so let's go to number 2....uhmmm...7 things...i was wondering what was it that i could let you know about which, first, is not something you already know (or at least not something the majority of you knows), second, something that wont be boring and third, something that wont make you go run away and never come back to this blog again....well, if you are ready to know a bit more about Ana, you can keep on reading :P


1. Im an only child and ive always felt sad coz of that. Despite the fact that ive been told many times that im lucky coz i dont have a brother or sister to argue with and that I could get everything I wanted without worrying I will have to share it with someone, reality is actually different. When I was little, I literally begged my mum to adopt me an older brother :P And I dont think Ive ever been self-centred and selfish and demanding as those stereotypical theories claim only-children to be.

2. Im an anti-smoker...a big one...one of the most annoying things I cant stand and which get me frustrated is the smoke of cigarettes and I always argue with people around me who smoke and dont pay much attention to those around them, if it is bothering them or no. Im GRATEFUL to this law they adopted here with which they ban smoking in the cafe's and all places of the closed kind. Life feels so much better :)

3. Im not a vegan, but I only like fish and chicken products...pork, lamb, beef..and my face immediately gets this *ughhh* expression :) Not fond of Fast Food either. And yes, I do love animals.

4. Im a female, but i HATE shopping. The thought of having to go shopping makes me cringe! :P Really...if you need company of someone to assist you in what to buy and to be there when you try clothes on, trust me, im the last person you should call :) I hate having to go from store to store, to look at things, to try them on and so on and so on...when I need to buy something, I usually have one or two stores in mind, go straight there and hopefully get what I need....or I just happen to pass by a shop and see something I like, I buy it or come later to buy it. When being abroad for example, i am the only one who doesnt go with the group of ladies shopping...i go my own way - music/book stores....now THERE i can spend an entire day without feeling bored for one second. Oh yeah, I love huge supermarkets too with lots and lots and lots of different food :D

5, I suffer from low blood pressure, hence i often feel sleepy...esp. on cloudy days or when the weather gets changeable, i just feel uselees and incapable to do anything as needed. Im also short-sighted but wear glasses only when going to the theatre or cinema

6. I am an anti-music talent. I LOVE music and often wish i could sing or play the guitar but unfortunately thats not for me. When i was in first year of high school, at the music class there was a recruitment for new people for the school choir so everyone had to sing a small piece according to the piano accords the teacher would play. So my turn came, i sang the part and the teacher asked me 'have you ever sung in a choir'? ; me - no; teacher - well, you never will. So there you go :)

7. I collect mugs...I have no room to keep them, yet I keep buying more...I have around 170 right now...I think I would sooner or later need a separate room where I could keep my mugs, postcards, letters, books and CD's :)

well, i think that 7 is not enough, but I guess you shouldnt get too much info about me at once :P

as for who to pass this too...well, I was thinking about it, and this is a tricky thing coz the last thing I would want is to make someone feel neglected or accidentally forget someone. So, if Im your follower, you have more or less regular updates, have written something in the past few weeks and you DO write texts and stories and information at your blog, and we are more or less in touch one way or another, then im handing this over to YOU. And just to mention a few, in no particular order:

dear Bea with her Penpalling and Letters, Glenn and his great postcard blog, Chris and his Wild Postcards (Zarah already nominated him for the Girls go Postal, so im giving him the other one ;), Dani with her current China adventures, Maggie who so selflessly helps me with deciphering Japanese stamps,  Anu and her lovely postcard blog, the generous and kind Heather and her so many lovely postcards, my dear Marta with her postcards (she esp. loves UNESCO in case you can help her), my very dear friend Chrissy whom I really miss talking to...

If you have a postcard blog I dont know of, let me know about it :)

So, if you are in the mood and feel like sharing some bits and pieces of your life, you can play. If not, I still wholeheartedly give you this award :)

Thanks a lot again Zarah!

Hugs to everyone!

The Veteran's Monument, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Im proud to announce a new country in my collection....which came as a total total surprise hence im even happier! :D

St. Vincent and the Grenadines....that sounds just sooo exotic! I honestly barely know anything about this place..and yet it is one of those places which like to confuse you (like Antigua and Barbuda for example), since the whole name of the country for example is St. Vincent and the Grenadines, but then, this card in particular comes from St. Vincent, so sometimes i dont know what;s the proper way to classify them...but the stamp says 'St. Vincent and the Grenadines', so St. Vincent and the Grenadines let it be....either way, it's more than worth having it! :D

The card shows the Veteran's monument....and the back of the card say: "The Monument - Court House in the background. To the Glory of God and in Memory of the Sons of Saint Vincent who gave their lives for King and Country in the Great World War 1914-1918.

Now the thing with St. Vincent and the Grenadines is that St. Vincent is the main island, while the Grenadines are a chain of smaller islands stretching south from Saint Vincent Island. Capital is Kingstown, which lies on St. Vincent of course.
Funny fact...this country has 120,000 inhabitants (only), yet it is considered ajavascript:void(0)s densely populated with over 300 inhabitants/km2.

Thanks a million to Herbert for thinking of me during his trip in the Caribbean! This really really made my day!

Now let's get down to the stamp...what i couldnt believe is that this card was mailed on 6th October...it took just two weeks to get there....wow! Congrats to the SVG postal system!
The left stamp is from a set of 4 insect stamps issued in 2007....as for the other one, i didnt manage to find it...or i didnt have enough patience..but problem is these stamps do not have the issue dates printed on them, so the whole search takes a real more.
Now, another, frustrating thing (if i may call it that way) regarding the SVG stamps is something I read over at Glenn's blog not so long ago, and he said that St. Vincent has issued stamps for The Grenadines since 1974 but certain islands of the Grenadines, have their own stamps, in particular Union Island, Bequia, Mustique, Canouan and Mayreau.
Now, thats like a mission impossible to me...esp since from what I read, many people who live on those islands either have no idea that they have stamps of their own or they have never seen them.
This postcard and stamp thing really feels complicated sometimes...Im extremely glad to had got the chance to kick off with a St. Vincent and Grenadine card and stamps at least...as for the rest of the particular islands...oh well, we'll see..you never know :)

Brest, Belarus

I really love these Russian, Belorussian, Ukrainian...churches....or in one word, all that used to belong to USSR..the architecture is just so nice!

This is the Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Brest, and it is considered to be the biggest church in Belarus. And unfortunately, I was surprised to see how little information one can find on the internet regarding this place.
All I got to find out is that this place commemorates the victims of WWII..and im not even 100% sure that is correct.

All the stamps come from 2008. The left one is from a set of 5 stamps of wild animals, with this one portraying a raccoon, while the other two are from a set of 8 representing Garden Flowers.

Naksan, South Korea

Dani gave me this card (one of many) before she left to China.

The card shows a sunrise reflecting off a Temple at Naksan.

It's a really lovely card...dont know why but this kind of cards with doors/windows seem to be very interesting...and also from what ive noticed, popular among postcard-collectors.
As for the Naksan Temple... it is a Korean Buddhist temple complex in the Jogye order of Korean Buddhism that stands on the slopes of Naksan Mountain and is one of the few temples in Korea to overlook the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

Naksansa was founded in 671, by the Buddhist monk, Uisang Daesa (Grand Master Uisang), an ambassador of the 30th King Munmu of the Silla Period (BC 57-AD 935) after he had returned from studying abroad during the Chinese Tang Dynasty, who, while meditating near the cave in which the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Gwaneumbosal) was believed to have lived, was told by the Bodhisattva to build the temple there.

thank you Dani! Hope you are enjoying your stay and study-time!

Torridon, Scotland

Scotland has such an amazing nature...and im happy to receive one from Anu.

The card shows the Torridon area, which consists of of Loch Torridon and the smaller Loch Shieldaig, situated on the west coast of Scotland, in Wester Ross. The Torridon loch was created by glacial processes and is in total around 25 km long. Torridon village lies at the head of the loch and is surrounded by the spectacular Torridon Hills. Shieldag is to the south and was established in 1800. Its purpose was to attract families to take up fishing for a living; and, incidentally, to help build up a stock of trained seamen who could be called upon by the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.

Two stamps on the card....one from the Queen Elizabeth, issued in 2010, and the other one is from a set of 10 stamps representing UK species in recovery...this here is the Dartford Wabler. On the stamp it says that in 1963 there were 12 pairs while in 1990 - 1800 pairs. Well done!

Thanks a lot Anu for the lovely card!

Texas, USA

One rather humourous card for the end...

So if you ever wondered what the wardrobe of a Texas person looked like, here is the answer :)
They obviously dont have the problem of variety and wondering what to wear today...and they are all in such different colours and patterns that you can match them with all sorts of different clothes and look fresh and modern every day...not just of the week, but of the month too :)

well, i really like the touch of humour this card has..ive heard that some people can actually get offended coz they feel this card ridicules the Texas people...I guess as many different persons, as many different opinions..im a person who enjoys sarcasm and doesnt get in the negative context unless really intended to be so...and same goes for this card....i just see it as a funny, teasing way....with no intention to harm or offend anyone...if someone does feel that way due to my card posted here, my apologies...that's really not my intention at all neither it has crossed my mind...that's just my sense of humour...

Chichén-Itzá, Mexico

Well, it's Friday...which by some latest logic means it's time to post some cards....i really dont know how i got stuck into this routine and why posting during the week become mission impossible....i mean, due to the latest change of events, i have much less free time and im really tired...but i didnt really expect id get THIS lousy....

And here is a card from my 'oh-i-want-a-card-from-there-oh-so-badly' country...ha, getting sort of sarcastic here, but it's nice to be able to use them regarding certain events...and today it is exactly two weeks since we AGAIN stopped talking to each other FOR GOOD....well, if he wants it to be like that, let it be like that...really, each time i get the impression that every single time he just kept looking for a reason of why we should not talk anymore ever again, and this time he found himself a pretty good one due to 'my fault'...so, there you go...back to the same old crappy status of always....meaning i will probably never get to see  Chichén-Itzá.....at least not with him....sad, eh....after all these years...but...im not gonna interfere anymore where im not wanted..really...when that person doesnt even bother to see your side of story and doesnt even believe what you say, but is persistent to sticking to his own point of view...well, not much i can do there...at least not for someone who aint interested in it...

Sorry for this pathetic rambling...but sometimes one just has to get it out of the system...coz when the person concerned doesnt want to listen, this blog doesnt complain and always willingly accepts whatever may happen to be on my mind...and im really grateful for that.

As for Chichén-Itzá.....this is what the back of the card says....This is a magnificent structure of Toltec influence of 24 metres height with stairs on each side and a small temple at the top. There is also an interior  temple which has a throne of red stone representing a jaguar with jade eyes.

Well, it's impressive in the least hand...and the Mayan civilization is one of the most fascinating things to me that has ever happened....

no real stamp on the card....i guess quite a lot of PO's in the world suffer either from the lack of stamps or from lazy postal workers....and now, i dont know if you have noticed, but this postal sticker, apart from the date and the price, also bears an item called 'destination'....and do you see whats actually written there?? It says RUSSIA! I really dont get it what kind of people are being employed at the post offices, but on many many occasions they have 'surprised me' with their total lack of knowledge on what their actual profession is...how could one write Russia, when the address clearly say 'Macedonia'...I mean, my country would be so proud to know all the points in the world it has been mistaken for so far....

btw, in case you soon receive a card from me which instead of a stamp will bear a sticker like this, i apologise in advance.but i cant always control this, regardless how much i try to give the best out of me.....

Glacier Express, Switzerland

Well, after some whining, here comes my ultimately favourite kind of cards....and this time we will 'meet' the Glacier Express...which is called "The train to fall in love with"...hmmm, obviously, every train has something to fall in love with it....they are just so charming :P

The one on the card has an 'en route' from Zermatt to St. Moritz (the alternative is to Davos)...covering 290km...over 291 bridges and through 91 tunnels! Wow...tunnels...i love tunnels...a fascination ive been having since very very little...esp. those long long ones...coz once you enter them, it feels like you enter some other, mysterious world, veiled in the unknown...
Hey, have you heard the latest news?? that finally the longest tunnel in the world has been drilled through? Yup! After 14 years, the 57 kilometers have finally been completed...though the tunnel is not likely to open until 2017....
It goes under the Swiss Alps....and many geologists have claimed that it would be impossible to bore a tunnel through here, saying the rock was too unpredictable and warning of dangers to anyone working underground...but today they have been proven wrong!

The maximum capacity of the tunnel is 300 trains per day (?!) going 250km an hour.
With this tunnel it is expected that the journey between Zurich and Milan will be cut down by an hour and a half...

Really cool...and can you imagine...almost 60 km of going through a tunnel?? Boy, if i was a child, that would have been one of the greatest and most exciting experiences in my life...

the stamp is from a set of two Fauna stamps issued in 2009....this one shows a Rock Partridge...

Arlington, USA

Dorin sent me this lovely cemetery card...i dont often get cemeteries, so it's always nice to add one to my collection.

This is the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia...

Founded in 1807, the nation's first national cemetery is built on land originally belonging to the Lee family. It is a shrine to the thousands of men and women who have died to keep America free. Interred here are John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, John Philip Sousa, J.Edgar Hoover and Matthew Brady. Inserts from top right: "Iwo Jima" Marin Corps Memorial; Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Kennedy Grave's Site.

Ok, apart from Kennedy, i dont really know the others....I thought that Matthew Brady rang a bell, but when i googled him, turned out that i havent heard of him before....well, you live you learn...

thanks Dorin again for the great card!

Austria

A very nice official card! Well, map cards are never bad cards :)

AT-52042

Funny thing about the card...you will probably need to zoom-in to see it...but here, as Austria's neighbours you have JUGOSLAWIEN and TSCHECHOSLOWAKEI.....ok....this is really ridiculous..do this postcard publishers know since when both of these countries have stopped existing??? Beginning of the 90's....last century...thats almost 20 years! 

I dont believe that the card itself is that old coz it is of really good quality and in great condition and this map card is a rather popular one among map-card collectors so it's not like me having a unique vintage piece of it...but it would have been nice if someone could at least correct these non-existent places on Earth.... 

 

the stamp on the left was issued in 2007 as one of the 5 flower stamps (this one is the Scotch Laburnum)...while the other stamp is from 2008, representing Manner - a line of confectionery from the Austrian conglomerate, Josef Manner & Comp AG, founded in 1890, whose production among else, includes wafers, long-life confectionery, chocolate-based confectionery, sweets, cocoa and a variety of seasonal products.

Yumm yumm yummie! Here if im not mistaken, Neapolitan wafers are shown..something this company is most known for.
My dad is extremely fond of Neapolitan wafers from all types...i think he even prefers them to chocolate.

Aalst, Belgium

The last card i chose today is a reprint one...coming from Aalst in Belgium.

Well, i barely have any info about this one...from what I could decipher this card shows a steamtram and  a Railway Station in Aalst...but nothing else...so if anyone may have more info about this one, please let me know...coz it is a really nice card....

thanks for dropping by again! :)

The Underwater Post Office, Vanuatu

Seems like my updates come from Friday to Friday...really not intentional, just happens that I could barely organize my time properly during the week...and it's been a really tough one, but I will skip that right now, coz here you have my absolute highlight of this past week and I dont want to ruin that with my whining and complaining and blah blah blahs....

Here you have one of the most special cards one could receive coming from not more, not less, but Vanuatu! (and just to brag and tease you, I received TWO special cards from Vanuatu, but will post only one for now).
And they both came as a total and unexpected surprise on behalf of my dear Sissel, sent by a friend of hers who happened to travel here!

And now you ask me, ok, except that it's from such a rare country as Vanuatu, what else could possibly so special about this card?
Well, let me brag again...it is a WATERPROOF postcard, sent from an UNDERWATER POST OFFICE!! Now, how cool is that, ehhh?!!!
I read about this underwater postoffice not so long ago, even though it turned out its existence is not such a new thing after all. It seemed rather unreal and I wondered how a waterproof postcard could look like...and then, few months later, im holding one in my hands! Wohoo! I still havent put it under the water though to test it for real :P

The back of the card says:
The World's only Underwater Post Office allows snorkellers and divers to post unique waterproof postcards, which are collected regularly by one of Vanuatu Post's four trained scuba diving "Postmen". Submerged only 3 metres below the surface at Hideaway Island Marine Sanctuary near Port Villa, the Underwater Post Office has received international fame since its launch in May 2003.

I told you I was rather ignorant about something that has existed for 7 years already...but one learns as long as he lives.

If you are interested to read more, here is the Official Site of the Underwater PO.

And I dont know how visible it is, but here you can see that special embossing cachet cancellation!

Thank you so much again to Sissel and Barb for saving me from one of my worst moods lately, at least for a while!

ps. photography courtesy to: Andy Belcher and Rob Marshall (New Zealand) and Crag Beruldsen - Australia

Lisbon, Portugal

I dont often receive official cards from Portugal...and this great one arrived few months ago...

PT-114410

It shows the Oriente's railway station in Lisbon...it is one of the main transport hubs, designed by Santiago Calatrava and built by Nesco. It was finished in 1998 for the Expo '98 world's fair in Parque das Nações, where it is located.

The Oriente station is an inter-modal terminal: Its facilities serve and interconnect several forms of transport. Passengers can change between metropolitan, long- and medium-haul regional and international trains. There are connections into the underground system, national and metropolitan buses or taxis. There is also an airport link and check-in facilities.

And here is the lovely Chopin stamp, issued this year in a set of 4 stamps (along with another Chopin and to Schumann stamps) commemorating the Bicentenary of Birth of these two great men.

Santa Catalina Mountains, USA

Dear Carol often knows to surprise my mailbox...

And this is such an amazing card! I honestly never believed I could see a combination of snow and cacti at ONE picture. And it's such a beautiful scene! I just love this! And it rather reminds me of what the weather outside seems to forecast...it's been soooo brr brrr brr cold these days...it wouldnt surprise me if one day soon I wake up to a snowy view outside.

These are the Santa Catalina Mountains, located north of Tuscon and they are the most prominent mountains in the area. The highest point in the Catalinas is Mount Lemmon at an elevation of 9,157 feet. Wow!

And Carol always seems to put a lot of effort in the stamps...she used 4 great ones here...the Olympic one in the middle is a commemorative one from this year regarding the Olympic Games in Vancouver...the one on the very right is from 2009 celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Alaska statehood...and it was rather challenging to track down the other two stamps, but voila! The one on the left was issued in 1972 (!) representing the Wolf Trap theatre, while the one at the bottom was issued in 1970, and it represents the very famous Mayflower and the Landing of the Pilgrims in the Promised Land.

Thank you so much Carol!

Isle of Wight, England

Another official card I received not so long ago...to knock on wood, but ever since i had put the trains on my wishlist, a number of really considerate people had chosen exactly that for me! Thank you!

GB-163219

The Isle of Wight Steam Railway is a heritage railway, passing through 5½ miles of unspoiled countryside from Smallbrook Junction to Wootton station, through the small village of Havenstreet, where the line has a station, headquarters and a depot. At Smallbrook Junction, the steam railway connects with the Island Line.

is owned and operated by the Isle of Wight Railway Co. Ltd. and run largely by volunteers. Services are operated on most days from June to September, together with Sundays in April, May, and October and public holidays. The railway is popular with tourists, attracting people to its original steam locomotive and railway cafe.

The railway has several steam locomotives and a small series of diesel shunters, four of which have had notable careers on the island.

Apart from the standard definitives with the Queen, here is one very lovely stamp, issued in 2007 in a set of 6 Grand Prix stamps, with this one featuring Stirling Moss, 1957 Vanwall 2.5L.
As for the Queen Elizabeth definitives, they come from this year's mini sheet of 12 stamps.

Sao Paolo, Brazil

Hmmm, and another official card for today....I wonder how I manage to pick cards like this at random...

BR-102767

It shows the Ponte Estaiada Octávio Frias de Oliveira bridge in São Paulo, which is a cable-stayed bridge over the Pinheiros River, opened in May 2008. The bridge is 138 metres (450 ft) tall, and connects Marginal Pinheiros to Jornalista Roberto Marinho Avenue.
The bridge deck is unusual due to its form, which is similar to an “X”, crossing at the tower.
It is the only bridge in the world that has two curved tracks supported by a single concrete mast.

And the card came from a Depeche Mode fan :D

The left two stamps come from a set of 10 issued in 2002, representing musical instruments, and here is a trumpet...while the other stamp was issued in 2004 in a set of 5 stamps representing paintings by Candido Portinari.

Thanks for following!

Åland

Wow, its crazy how fast time flies....before I know it and it's Friday already again....and Im embarrassed to admit that these cards have been waiting in the draft since last Sunday....but I just havent had the time nor have been in the right frame of mind to make posts....well, we'll see how I manage today :)

Well, you know I LOVE flag cards, and the flag of Åland has got to be among my favourite ones. I just LOVE its colours...they make the flag radiate with so much warmth and passion, and the you know that as long there is blue, its already having great chances for me to love it :)


The flag of the Åland Islands (Finnish: Ahvenanmaa, Swedish: Åland) is blue with a red Scandinavian cross fimbriated yellow.
When Finland declared independence from Russia in 1917, the Åland islanders feared for their Swedish language and culture and mobilized for a reunion with Sweden. In the Middle Ages the Åland archipelago was a province of Sweden. Ecclesiastically the islands belonged to the diocese of Abo (Turku) in Finland, and so the province was lost to Russia in 1809. The issue was finally settled by the League of Nations in 1921. The islands were to be a part of Finland, but they were to enjoy autonomy.
However, a flag was not granted until 1954. Unofficially a blue-yellow-blue triband had been in use from 1922. Several versions existed, the dominating one had equal horizontal bands. Another version had a narrower band of yellow - as when the vertical yellow stripe in the cross on the Swedish flag is taken away.
Blue and yellow were naturally the favourite colours, being both the colours of Sweden and the colours of the provincial coat of arms (a golden deer on blue), Therefore, when preparing a design for adoption in the early 1950s, the favoured design was a Scandinavian cross design of a blue field and a yellow and blue cross - that is, the flag of Sweden with an extra blue cross in the middle. This proposal was rejected by the president of Finland as too similar to the Swedish flag. Alternative designs were the old blue-yellow-blue triband, the flag of Finland with an extra yellow cross in the middle, and a design where a red cross was added to the Swedish pattern.

The outcome of the process was the adoption of the blue-yellow- red Scandinavian cross design. This flag was first hoisted on the town hall in the provincial capital Mariehamn 3 April 1954. The red colour was controversial at first, because people felt it lacked a local tradition. However, the colours can be said to come from the provincial coat of arms (blue and yellow - also Sweden's colours) and the colours of the coat of arms of Finland (red and yellow). Also, experts in heraldry have found out that at one point a Swedish king hoisted a flag of exactly the same design.

Canadian Rockies, Canada

Glenn has given so many fantastic surprises to my mailbox, and this is one of them

A lovely lovely train card!
The Rocky Mountaineer train runs on few different routes, 'First Passage to the West' (Vancouver- Banff & Calgary), 'Journey to the Clouds' (Vancouver-Jasper), 'Rainforest to Goldrush' route (Whistler-Quesnel-Jasper).

The first one is said to be the most scenic & certainly the most historically-significant route to choose, as it travels over the famous Canadian Pacific Railway. It's the original 'Rocky Mountaineer' route on which the company first started in 1990, when the last regular passenger trains on the line were discontinued. the journey takes 2 full days with 1 overnight hotel stop.

Some of the reviews I had read about this train included: "The Best Train Experience in the world", "The benchmark train ride for jaw-dropping scenery", "One of the world's ultimate experiences", "Rocky Mountaineer's journey through the Canadian Rockies is truly one of the most spectacular train trips in the world", "50 things to do before you die: Rocky Mountaineer", Winner of 4 World Travel Awards - "World's leading travel experience by train", named by National Geographic as one of the World's Greatest Trips.

After seeing this, im left totally speechless....this is not just fantastic...this is far beyond that, totally impossible for me to describe...but it has definitely reserved its place on my 'things i would LOVE to do' list

take a look:



have you been on a trip like this before?

The stamp on the right is a part of a m/s issued in 2009, representing the Year of the Ox, the insect stamp is low value definitive from 2009, representing the Monarch Caterpillar...while the last stamp on the left is from a set of 8 handicrafts stamps issued in 1999, with this one representing Bookbinding.

PS. During the past few days, I had received a few more surprises from you Glenn...thank you so so so much!

Triglav, Slovenia + Contest ;)

A fantastic card from Slovenia, showing the summit of the Triglav mountain, at 2864m...

And here you can also see the Aljaž Tower. This tower is a landmark of Slovenia and a symbol of Slovenehood and it also presents a storm shelter on Triglav.
When you tell me about Triglav, the first thing that ALWAYS comes to my mind is this song dating back from the times of Yugoslavia...and there was this line in it, "od Vardara pa do Triglava", or "from Vardar to Triglav", meaning the southern landmark and the northern landmark from former Yugoslavia...

So here comes the contest time....this is the song, where maybe you wont understand the lyrics but you can at least enjoy the pictures showing different sites from all parts of Yugoslavia


Now, your task is...how many of them can you identify? How many places from Macedonia can you recognize? :) The person with the most right guesses regarding the Macedonian sites, will get a written and stamped postcard from me....I know it may be a tough contest, but maybe you can dig among your cards or some found at other people's blogs to help you...so there you go....the contest will be open for a while....i cant make an exact promise, but I will give you enough time to do the searching and exploring ;)
In case of more people having the most correct answers, the winner will be the first one who had posted his or her answers.

Good Luck ;)

and two nice stamps here..the big one on the right is from this year, representing National costume from Prekmurje region, while the other one is from a set of 11 flower definitives, issued in 2009