Hello hello...hope you are having a nice weekend! It's a sunny one here, which compared to the previous few days feels like a blessing. Hopefully, the snow in some not so far countries, wont come to us...at least not so soon...i mean it is still just November...
KZ-512
And im starting this update with an official card I received not so long ago, and it comes from a rather rare one, in particular Kazakhstan! Yay! I just love those small ID's :)))
Well, I already posted a very similar card from Ustyurt almost two years ago, which was actually my first ever received card from this country thanks to dear Jo...so in order not to repeat myself with the same info, if you want, you can read more about it here.
However, I really wanted to post this one, since it is an official card and it feels just special to have received one :) And what makes it even more special, is coz it was sent by a little girl, who is just 3 years old....of course, her mum is helping her with all the stuff, but I like it when parents initiate something like this in their children and eventually, their children, when they grow a bit older, can continue with this hobby themselves and continue exploring the world.
Im only not sure where did that stain come from...on the right side of the card...I cant figure out if it is coffee or chocolate *blush*
And a very nice stamp....even though im not a football fan, I do find this stamp real nice! It was issued in 2006 commemorating the FIFA World Cup in Germany
Another extra cool official card, from not such an every day country again...
RO-17508
This card shows a map of the Transylvanian region, made by Johannes Honter in the 16th Century. Honter was a Saxon humanist and theologian, who was best known for his geographic and cartographic publishing activity, as well as for implementing the Lutheran reform in Transylvania.
As much as I love those colourful maps with cartoons, I also like a lot these with the antique/latin touch...
And a lovely stamp from 2010....from a joint issue with Argentina, showing Mountain lakes
This card arrived from Florida, showing a lighthouse in St. Augustine. Such a perfect choice for me!
St. Augustine is the oldest city in the US, and was founded by the Spanish in 1565. It also has the oldest fortress in USA, Castillo de San Marcos and this lighthouse is the oldest one in USA as well!
Erm, suddenly I dont know if I should feel old or young after so many repetitions of the word 'oldest' :P
and a bunch of great stamps! there are three copies of the Tiffany lamp issued in 2008...then two copies of the Navajo Jewelry stamp, issued in 2007...the 3c one is a definitive from 2002...and then at the top, you have two stamps from the great Sunday Funnies issue, from 2010. One is the Archie stamp, showing Archie sharing a chocolate shake with brunette Veronica Lodge on his right and blonde Betty Cooper on his left, while the other stamp shows Beetle Bailey, with Beetle smiling calmly while Sarge loses his cool.
Thanks a lot to Maria for the great card, lovely stamps and great info on the back of the card!
And my last card for today comes from the Turkish RR, from the jubilee Group 100.
And such a great one...I think that for today i basically covered my top interests...a map, then a lighthouse, and now a railway related card. :)
This one shows the Hong Kong railway museum, located in Tai Po. Here in particular you can see the semaphore used to control the rail traffic.
There are two locomotives on exhibition at the museum, EMD G12 Diesel-electric locomotive #51 and A W.G. Bagnall 0-4-4T narrow gauge steam locomotive.
There are six coaches on the tracks for public viewing and appreciation of the contrast between the old and the new.
A 1911 third-class compartment, #302
A 1921 engineering coach, #002
A 1955 third-class compartment, #223 (an educational video room)
A 1955 luggage compartment, #229
A 1964 first-class compartment, #112
A 1976 ordinary-class compartment, #276
And also, there are a pump trolley and a diesel-engined railcar
A rather well known HK kind of a stamp I think...a definitive issued in 2006 in a set of 16 bird stamps, showing the Red-whiskered Bulbul.
Thats all for today...as always, thanks for reading and thanks for the great cards!
I simply adore such streets...with such lovely colourful houses and buildings...they look soo charming!
Caminito, "little walkway" or "little path" in Spanish, is a short street in La Boca, a neighbourhood in Buenos Aires. It retains a strong European flavour, with many of its early settlers being from the Italian city of Genoa.
The sender says that there are also many street performers and that it is a lovely place to visit.
Well, I dont doubt that...simply, this place has spirit...and can you spot the bike on the balcony? the first-floor one?
I love such huge clear cancellations!
This great stamp is from a set of 4 issued this year with regards to the WC Football.
Im a real idiot sometimes...ive received a number of cards from Tunisia, but decided to keep them in the dark..well, not on purpose, but thing is, time flew away without me realizing that I should post some...you know, I usually keep the rare/harder to get countries as special, and dont post them as often..but eventually, I got a few Tunisian cards, so i could freely post at least one...yet I didnt...until now...
Judit sent me this great map card from her holidays this summer...from the city of Nabeul, coastal town in northeastern Tunisia, on the south coast near to the Cap Bon peninsula. Among the other things you can see on the map, you can notice, at the bottom left corner, something called "Neapolis". Well, apparently, Nabeul is a former Roman colony, whose name is an Arabised form of the Greek Neapolis which stands for 'new city'.
I like the Kamel Market too, and would love to visit the Theatre and La Medina...though due to the common high temperatures, Tunisia has never been one of my favourite destinations, though if I ever get the chance to go, ill surely take it.
Another lovely clear cancellation...on a stamp issued in 2009 in a set of 4, showing fruits of Tunisia...this is a peach...well, it is a fruit of many other countries of the world as well, but maybe there is something special regarding Tunisian peaches.
An absolutely FANTASTIC card Annie sent me for the NZ Travelling RR!
This card shows the Tranz Scenic, Alpine Railway in New Zealand...this 'alpine' word makes some confusions for me, since it only associates me to Europe, but yes, this is NZ we are talking about.
This is what the back of the card says:
Trains run daily across the Canterbury plains, over Arthurs Pass, then via the Otira Gorge and Lake Brunner to Greymouth on the West Coast. The magnificent scenery and steep alpine passes are often covered during the winter in sparkling snow.
here is a video which believe it or not, has an accompanying song called Tranz-Alpine Express too :p
such a lovely train and such lovely scenery...ahhhhhhhhhh
and a number of great stamps too!! the two on the left were both issued in 2007 as a part of 7 scenic definitives...the top one shows Rangitoto Island, while the one below it, shows Central Otago. As for the stamps on the right, both come from 2009, where the bottom one is again a scenic definitive, coming from a set of 7, showing Tolaga Bay...while the stamp above it, comes from a set of 24 stamps (issued as a mini-sheet) presenting a Tiki tour of New Zealand....this one is called Mud Pools Rotoura...I had once posted a postcard presenting Rotoura, and if you want, you can see it here.
Another country which can be considered as rare...but as I had told you above....while keeping these rare countries for not-everyday postings, i eventually obtained some more cards from these places, so I thought it was about time to bring them to life.
and a card which doesnt show that pompous, million-dollar side of Dubai, but something totally different, and thats why I love it!
This is the Jumeirah Mosque, which is the largest and one of most beautiful ones, presenting a spectacular example of modern Islamic architecture, built in the medieval Fatimid tradition combined with modern building materials. This is the only city mosque that accepts non-Muslim visitors and only through organized Jumeirah Mosque tours. The only way for visitors to tour the mosque is to join one of the Jumeirah Mosque tours led by the Sheikh Mohammed Center for Cultural Understanding. The organization’s goals are directed at nurturing cultural awareness through direct experiences and promoting first-hand insight into Islam.
So if you ever find yourself in Dubai, you are not a Muslim and are curious to see this mosque, here you will be given the chance.
the stamp on the left is from a set of very well-known defintiives, issued in 2009, in a set of 7, presenting birds. The other stamp comes from a set of 2 issued this year, with regards to Expo 2010 in Shanghai.
Thats all for today...hope you liked the choice of cards...till next time :)
Well, maybe it is not the most appropriate season of the year to be posting desert pictures, but it might feel nice too all of you out there who have snow and very cold temperatures...so maybe a glimpse at this card will take your thoughts away and once you realize how it would be to be trapped in a desert, all of a sudden the snow and freezing temps wont feel so bad :)
The Libyan Desert is part of the Sahara. It covers some 1,300,000 km2 in Libya, Egypt, and Sudan and consists mainly of gravelly plains, rock outcrops, and vast areas of shifting sand dunes. Elevations generally vary from 150 to 900 m. In the northeast, in Egypt, the Qattara Depression drops to 133 m below sea level - one of the lowest points in Africa.
The Libyan Desert is extremely dry; it often receives no rain for several years at a time. Nomadic herders traverse the region, but permanent habitation is possible only at scattered oases. The northern part of the desert was the scene of intense fighting during World War II.
The desert features a striking diversity of landscapes including mountains like Jebel Uweinat (1980 m), the Gilf Kebir plateau, and sand seas.
The stamps are from a set of 16 issued in 1996, representing Maghreb Handicrafts
The card shows a Steam Locomotive VLTJ No. 6 from 1910 with mix trains, on the Harboør station in April 1973.
If I had figured it out correctly, VLTJ stands for Vemb - Lemvig - Thyborøn Jernbane, or Lemvigbanen, which is a Danish railway line in Northwest Jutland. Established in 1879, the line extends from Vemb via Lemvig to Thyborøn. The single-track line is mostly level, and is operated with a fleet of five single-unit Y-train railcars.
The railway is to be used to test a prototype hydrogen-powered train in 2010
hydrogen-powered train...now that sounds cool!! If this hydrogen train poses questions, you can read more about it here
the stamp was issued this year (2010) and comes from a set of 8 stamps representing Denmark's nature. This stamp here shows a Natterjack Toad....uhmm, not something id like to cuddle...
A card from Down Under...where summer is approaching....
And...I got this card as an absolute surprise...sent to me from the First Postcrossing meeting in Adelaide, which took place on 10.10.2010 (cool, eh?:))....and...apart from the fact that I LOVE receiving cards from PC meetings, since it shows that someone has thought of me...this card feels extra special coz it was Vicki herself who thought of me!!! You may wonder, who's Vicki....but if I tell you, it was Mundoo herself, then that should give you a clearer idea....now if you have no idea who Mundoo is, then you are probably not a part of the forum and have never been there....so it would be pointless to go into further explanations since it wont really make any difference to you either way :)
But to me it does...and im more than happy and grateful that she thought of me...and i wanna thank also the other people who had put their signatures on the card...glenasena, gracefool, crizle, apty, maggie 05....
Cute koala stamp...issued in 2009 in a set of 4 stamps, representing Australian Bush Babies.
The view is just amazing...reminds me of the Alps and Milka chocolate :)
But this is actually in the USA, in the state of Washington...and this is Mount Rainier, which is a massive stratovolcano located 87km southeast of Seattle. is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, and it is on the Decade Volcano list, or one of the 16 volcanoes with the greatest likelihood of causing great loss of life and property if eruptive activity resumes.
The most recent recorded volcanic eruption was between 1820 and 1854, but many eyewitnesses reported eruptive activity in 1858, 1870, 1879, 1882 and 1894 as well.
Ehh, who could have thought that something so beautiful could cause such a devastating damage.
and here's how the USPS machines sometimes cancel the stamps....
Apart from the well known stamp with the American Clock, the other two were issued this year...the cute doggy stamp is from a set of 10, called "Adopt a shelter pet"....if I could, I would adopt all shelter cats and dogs to be honest....and the flower stamp is titled 'Love: Pansies in a Basket'
Well, some of you already know about this card, some of you dont yet, but now at last here it is to see the light of the day! My very first card from Dominica, and oh yes, written and stamped and cancelled!! Uhh, that sounds sooo sooo good!
And just to make sure there is no room left for confusion....the card is from Dominica, or more precisely, the Commonwealth of Dominica, which is different and shouldnt be confused with the Dominican Republic, since the names of these countries sound so much alike. And I think that Dominica itself is a harder country to get...though I must say that I actually had a number of failed attempts with the Dominican Republic, before I actually got one in my mailbox.
Did you know that the name Dominica comes from the Italian word for Sunday (domenica), which was the day on which it was spotted by Christopher Columbus. The official language is English in consequence of its history as a British colony, territory, and state, though a French creole is spoken by many, especially people of older generations. The demonym or adjective is "Dominican" in English, same as that for the Dominican Republic, but unlike the Dominican Republic, in which the stress is on the first "i", the stress is on the second "i"
Yeah, ive been breaking my tongue ever since...
This card is called "A glimpse of paradise itself" and through this window you can see all kind of beauties...waterfalls, sandy beaches, oceans....
When I look at this card, it makes me think of that 'when one door closes, another one opens' proverb...yeah, I know this is a window...but for some reason, when a door (window) closes for me, I seem to be stubbornly persistent to open again the same old one...i take peeks behind new ones, but either i dont dare to step in, or i just dont find what i see thrilling enough...and thats a killing combination since it makes you stuck in the middle of nowhere, since you cant go ahead (or at least you dont know how) and you cant go back coz you either cant find the key or someone had just changed the door-lock and you cant open it anymore..and it's just so frustrating!!!!
And here is the stamp, with this lovely, huge, oval cancellation! Just that I couldnt possibly find the right info for this stamp..
Thanks again a million to Herbert for this fantastic surprise!!!!
Ive realized that one can learn a rather lot through these cards representing traditional clothes and/or dances.
This one coming from Malaysia shows a Portrait of Sabandar Cultural Dancers in Malay costume worn to perform Joget, the Malay traditional dance
Joget is also performed at official functions as it is the National Dance.
Joget is a great example how elements from various culture can merge together into one single form. The dance of the Portuguese roots is accompanied by an ensemble consisting of; a violin of Western world, a knobbed gong of Asia, a flute (optional) and at least two rebana or gendang of Malay world. The tempo of Joget music is fairly quick with the feeling of teasing and playing between the partners. The music emphasizes duple- and triple-beat division, both in alternation and simultaneously, and sung in the northeast Malaysia style[2][3].
One of the most popular type of Joget is called "Joget Lambak" and usually performed by a large crowd together in social functions.
And here is what YouTube has got to say about Joget Lambak...uhmm....i feel im being mislead...
This stamp was issued this year in a flower stamps set, and also, each stamp of that set, as i understood, represents one state in Malaysia.
The card shows Mariacka street, which is considered to be the most romantic street in Gdansk.
Well, with all this snow and in this light of the photograph, it certainly feels romantic.
And somebody even decided to make a video about it, during daylight and post it...so by the time you get your chance to walk this street, here is one minute of it
a rather appropriate stamp with all that snow above...a Christmas one from a set of two issued in 2009
The card is named Delightful Friendship....and it definitely looks like one.
It is not hard to guess that these children do not come from a wealthy area but just look at them! They are sooo sweet and seem so happy and delighted that they are posing to the camera! The children's smiles and laughters are the most genuine ones and these ones just definitely warm your heart...just look at them! Arent they absolutely adorable?
India consists of 28 states, and these sweethearts come from the state of Tamil Nadu.
Currently im in the middle of reading,..well, two books actually, but one of them is called Indigo Bombay...it is a FANTASTIC book by Jagoda Mihajlovska-Georgieva, a Macedonian author, and if you happen to anyhow come across a copy of it in your native language, I HIGHLY recommend that you read it...the book is simply captivating, and gives you this chance to see India from a different perspective. Still cant talk in too many details, since I havent finished the book yet, but hopefully, with the next India card, I will tell you a few more words...hopefully, I wont forget.
It's amazing how many nice and kind people ive met in the past few years since i got seriously involved into this postcard exchange stuff and since Ive opened this postcard blog....I dont know if id ever be able to thank them all appropriately enough!
This time the big thank you goes to Alvin, who came across this blog and kindly enough offered me to send me several cards he had from Turkmenistan...and you know me, modesty at those times doesnt seem to exist in my dictionary and I cant say, no thanks...but say, YES PLEASE THANK YOU!!!! And eventually an envelope arrived with not one but FIVE Turkmenistan postcards!! Ahhhhhhhhhh
Alvin says that it was really hard to get cards in Turkmenistan due to lack of tourism...well, Im not surprised honestly...cards and people exchanging cards from Turkmenistan, have always been a real rarity...
This card here show the Mosque of spirituality of Saparmurat Turkmenbashi the Great, in Turkmenistan's capital, Aşgabat. (you read that as Ashgabat)
If im not mistaken, and I might be, this should refer to Turkmenistan's former President, Niyazov....and when I read a few words about him, I must say I was rather surprised...I didnt really expect to come across something which would sort of remind me of North Korea's regime...I extracted a number of examples, which I dont know if I should call bizarre or what....but they certainly can leave one speechless, wondering, what the hell?!!.....
- he was known for renaming renaming the days of the week and of the months to Turkmen heroes, poets, historical events, his family members, and himself, and recoining the Turkmen word for bread by the name of his mother.
- all hospitals outside Aşgabat were ordered shut, with the reasoning that the sick should come to the capital for treatment.
- All libraries outside of the capital were also closed, as Niyazov believed that the only books that most Turkmen needed to read were the Koran and his Ruhnama.
- Dog and cat ownership in the capital is restricted to one animal by a law restricting the keeping of herds of animals in Ashgabat
- Niyazov requested that a palace of ice be built near the capital, though Turkmenistan is a desert country with a hot and arid environment. The palace was never built.
- In February 2004 he decreed that men should no longer wear long hair or beards
- He also banned news reporters and anchors from wearing make-up on television, apparently because he believed Turkmen women were already beautiful enough
Yeah, Im having a number of question marks banging against my head....for the end, here is one BBC video about the above mentioned Ruhnama....
Thank you again Alvin. Apart from getting such a rare country, I also got to learn some totally new things.
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well, this one has some sort of a story...I got some of these map cards last summer....I was actually over-excited when I saw them, and had to grab more than one...but of course, in the end they could be found nowhere....yeah, tourists know what's most popular.
Anyways, since my mum went there last September, I asked her to look for some map cards again, and in case she didnt find any, I gave her mine so that she could send it to me written and stamped from there...now, I dont know if this is my last year's card or if it is one of the new ones she got, but it doesnt really matter...what matters is that I have it here with me...thank you so much mum!!!
And i must mention, that compared to the cards available last summer, this year, they have really gone down....pity.
the stamp is from a mixed 2008 issue, containing 3 stamps.
I received a number of Taiwanese train cards lately...Taiwain is surprising me with its published train cards on the overall.
This card here shows the Memorial CK124 Locomotive of Taiwan Railway Co.
To attract tourists, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) spent nearly US$6.16 million to restore the tracks and facilities along the line, which passes many historic sites, including the Broken Longteng Bridge and the nearby Shengsing station built during the Japanese colonial era.
The project has managed to restore service on 13.6 kilometers of the line thus far, from Sanyi to Taian Station in Taichung County, according to the TRA.
dont you just love that horn sound of the old steam locomotives?! :))
For a long while i was simply craving to get a card showing the Trakai Castle....and then Inga came into my life, and sent me a bunch of fantastic Lithuanian cards, among which Trakai as well!
This is the Trakai Island Castle, with Trakai Town emerging in the distance.
This Gothic style castle was constructed by the Lithuanian Grand Dukes - Kęstutis and Vytautas at the end of XIV century and the first decade of 15th century.
Well, I just love this view of the castle, located among so much water...makes it just look so special and lovely!
Wohooo...my second ever card showing San Marino...with the difference that this one is written and stamped and sent from there directly...wohoo...thanks to Luca!!
They say that San Marino is the "Land of Freedom"....and I must say it has some sort of a weird flag...I confuse it with the Estonian one...and if im not wrong, on the card you can see the Guatia fortress....which was built in the 11th century and served briefly as a prison. But this is just my lucky guess based on some picture comparison, since nothing specifically is stated on the card.
Btw....ive been suffering from a terrible cold these past few days....it got so awful, that I had to take days off...and I never do that unless I really feel incapable to get out of the house...and now it has been like that...ive been bombing myself with medicine and vitamins and tea and food...and fresh air...and sleep...and hopefully when i get up tomorrow morning I wont feel again like a heavy train has run over me....but at least ive been able to focus on my working tasks...and finish them....though it hasnt been easy when you feel like your head weighs 100kg...yikes...and well, with that some extra time in my hands, i got to make some update too...well, just trying to get the best out of the bad situation...:)
and here is that San Marino flag I had mentioned....this stamp was issued in 2007 and represents the Presdiency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
I really dont know why, but I always have this problem of accepting that Russia DOES have lighthouses indeed...and very beautiful ones...
And this one in Murmansk is particularly interesting...well, maybe not the lighthouse itself, but the position of Murmansk...it is located in the extreme north-west part of Russia, on the Kola Bay...and you know that I get a special heart-beat for those places which are located at some extreme point on earth.
The port remains ice-free year round due to the warm North Atlantic drift ocean current, and it is set to be the Russian terminus of the Arctic Bridge (or Arctic Sea Bridge), a sea route linking it to the Canadian port of Churchill, Manitoba.
and some brrr temperatures.....the average highest temperature in July reaches only 17.2 degrees Celsius...ok, I prefer colder weather than our unbearable summers, but I dont think I could live long in a place where during the year, the temperature is either below or around zero...uhmm...what was that about me wanting to live in Norway?!.....Maybe I should give it a second thought :)
Im not sure though what was the situation in Murmansk this summer, when Russia was caught in that awful heat-wave..
and some nice Russian stamps...the small one is one of the Russian definitives issued in 2008 in a set of 15 stamps, this one representing a Fox....the other two stamps were issued this year...the green one on the left comes from a set of 4 stamps showing costumes, while the other one is also from a set of 4 stamps, showing WWII weapons.
A card I won in a lottery....along with a matching stamp...and a matching poster...and I never would have known there was something like a Sea Cucumber if I hadnt gotten this card....
Here is what the back of the card says:
"Sea cucumber" is a generic term that encompasses more than 1,000 species of marine invertebrates. The species depicted on this stamp is Enypniastes eximia. These creatures are most abundant on the ocean floor, where they feed on nutrient-rich sediment. A few species, including Enypniastes eximia, swim to higher depths after feeding, probably to avoid bottom-dwelling predators. Enypniastes eximia is transparent, and its coloration varies according to body size; small individuals are pale pink, while large adults are dark brown-red to crimson. This particular species is bioluminescent (?!!). A predator that strikes Enypniastes eximia (if i write it a few more times, i will probably learn its spelling by heart) is quickly covered with a sticky, glowing skin that makes it vulnerable to its own predators.
Erm...does it even look like a cucumber? And how many sea 'vegetables' are there actually
My last card for today comes from dear Jurga, who saw this one in my favourites and wanted to surprise me!
And this is such a lovely, warm card...and when you take a look at its location on the map, just northwest of Africa, no wonder they have such a nice climate...(yeah, here is me speaking of the weather again...ive become like one of those old ladies who gather together in front of someone's gate and having nothing better to discuss of, talk of the weather...)
But actually, while we are at it, i have to mention something about ours...it's been a crazy day today...with believe it or not, 25 degrees...in the mid-November...that just feels totally crazy...after a lovely sunny and warm weekend, we had two days of rain and then all of a sudden we get full sunshine and warm temperatures...and just last week it was freezing cold....and then I wonder why i get ill....one really has to be immune and not be affected with such drastic weather changes, which in Macedonia seem to be more like a trend in the past years than something that happens every once in a while...though to be honest I prefer days like today..throughout the year...not too hot, not too cold...just perfect to go outside and enjoy the sunshine, plus have this small lovely breeze....but I bet that by tomorrow things will drastically change again...oh well....=/
And here is a very lovely stamp! I always get happy when I see something different than the stamps im more or less used to from a certain country....this one was issued this year, promoting Spanish tourism.....ummm, does look appealing, definitely!
Thanks so much again Jurga! For the card and the thoughtfulness! And to the rest,thanks again for dropping by and for reading...hope you werent TOO bored with my weather ramblings :P
What a nice weekend it has been....warm and sunny..no..havent done anything special, but im happy that ive managed to do some efficient cleaning so now if you want to enter my room, you can actually do so without worrying you'll trip over something....plus i cleared my desk of the TONZ of necessary and unnecessary stuff it was cluttered with....the latter prevailed to a large extent i must admit....and well, lets close this week with a few more cards.
The first one comes from Glenn and his trip to Jamaica earlier this year...well, back in February according to the postmark below :)
This is such a sweet and cute card, saying to portray a scene from rural Jamaica, and this card is called Pickney Bath Time.
It's always nice to see the rural scenes of the countries, and not only the regular city views and sceneries one is used to...when it comes to Jamaica, what first comes to my mind are beautiful long beaches and crystal clear waters...reggae music and Bob Marley...faster than light sprinters like Usain Bolt...and all that's perfectly interesting as well...but it is something that is more common, while these rural Jamaican scenes are not something seen every day...so thats why I appreciate cards like this too...plus this kid is just soooo adorable!
In general, a scene like this is not unfamiliar to me, since in the rural and even not so rural areas, you can come across a bath of this kind...and the kids enjoy the splish-splash :)
probably the most common Jamaican stamp, at least when it comes to international mail...coming from a set of 8 definitives issued in 2006. its part III of this subject regarding Classical architecture, where here you can see Devon House St. Andrew.
Here is one FANTASTIC map card....and I must say a very RARE one to see around, so im INCREDIBLY happy to have it, and that wouldnt have happened if dear Tina wasnt so KIND to send it to me!! Thank you again Tina! Thank you thank you thank you!!!
Ehm...I cant believe it that it's been over a year now since ive visited BiH...time flies soo fast! And back than not at one place I spotted map cards...and maybe thats good, coz otherwise i would have probably gone bankrupt wanting to buy as many as possible coz one can make a really good deal with these :)
There are a number of nice small pictures, but I dont feel competent enough to say what exactly each one represents...though I think that each of them is for one of the cities shown on the card in capital letters...coz there are 16 pictures and also 16 marked cities...dont know if i had mentioned this before...but there is a direct bus line from Skopje to Sarajevo....i have this urge to get on it...and explore Sarajevo too since I didnt have the chance to do so during my trip last summer...im rather adventurous and I dont really need many excuses and reasons to travel somewhere :)
As for the cities on the card, I can share a few thoughts that come to my had....Jajce for example (which in Macedonian means "egg") is a place which has remained in my memory since school days since we learned in the history class about it when we learned about WWII...it hosted the second convention of the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia in 1943, a meeting that set the foundation for the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia after the war....Tuzla is the city which is famous for salt production, while Srebrenica is unfortunately that infamous place for the Srebrenica genocide during the 90's, the largest mass murder in Europe since WWII.
I think I discovered two of the pictures....on the left side, the second picture represents the Jajce waterfalls, while on the right side, the 4th picture represents Srebrenica....the one in the bottom left corner is definitely the bridge in Mostar, while the third picture at the bottom from left to right might be Neum, since thats like the only summer resort in BiH, at the Adriatic Sea...
This is the Sõrve lighthouse, on the Saaremaa Island in Estonia.
Height from bottom 52m, light altitude 53m.
The history of one of Estonia's best known lighthouses begins in the year 1646. Since then, a number of lighthouses have been established in this location. The present tower made of concrete, was built in 1960.
It replaced a square stone lighthouse built in 1770 and subsequently destroyed during the fighting between the Russians and the Germans in 1944 during World War II. On 1945 a temporary wooden lighthouse was built to serve during the period between two permanent lighthouses.
Janek used two lovely lighthouse stamps as well...the one on the right was issued in a set of two on 2006, representing Tallinn Leading Line Lighthouse, while the other stamp is from 2005 again from a set of two, representing Norrby Leading Line Lighthouses.
the stamp on the very left is from a set of 3 issued in 1993, commemorating 75 years of the Estonian republic.
thanks a lot Janek! And I hope things are ok with you!
Out of soo many Croatian cards, this is actually my very first one showing Cavtat...so thanks a lot to Goran for this perfect choice for my collection!
I regret not having used the chance last year to visit Cavtat too, but went only to Dubrovnik...when Cavtat is actually before Dubrovnik (and is the nearest Croatian city to the border with Montenegro I think), so it is not like it takes any extra hours to go further and back, when the city is already in the way...but oh well, hope I learn from my mistakes and use a chance next time...ive been to Cavtat before...but I was a child back then so I dont really remember anything...
The modern Croatian name for the city reveals the ancient origins and the link with Dubrovnik. Cavtat is a derived from Civitas Vetus, that means "old city" in Latin.
the stamp is from this year's set of 4 stamps representing Croatian Ethnographic heritage and this one portrays Medimurje.
Well, stay tuned until next time...whenever I get the chance to make that happen :)
