Beni, Bolivia

A card from Bolivia...which as well makes it a new country in the collection.....its just that i dont know if i should be angry to myself about it, excited...happy...frustrated...or everything together...the story behind the card will actually make it clear....

I was going through some old mail the other day...all the letters i have received from penfriends throughout the years, mainly coz of cleaning up the drawers, and as well, coz i thought of actually selling some envelopes with the stamps along on them (if anyone knows a list of prices of how much stamps on envelopes are worth, please let me know...i need something like a catalogue with world-wide stamps shown....so its not single stamps, but like covers...)
Anyway....as i was going through the letters, i came across some quite unfamiliar to me...and among them i saw an envelope which had Bolivian stamps...i couldnt really recall i had ever received a letter from there, so i took a peek inside...and found a card...as on the front the name "Beni" is written, it didnt really tell me much...and my first thought was that its some ad-card promoting something....i dont know what.....its when i turned the card on the back when i was in total shock and amazement...and absolutely speechless, just stared at the card....first of all coz it was a real postcard....second coz it actually said Bolivia!!! I couldnt absolutely believe it!!!
I have had a card from Bolivia ALL THESE years and i had absolutely NO idea about it!!! See why im so angry with myself?!! Whatever card i had received, with or without envelope, i would put it aside....WHY on Earth i had left this one inside and never realized till now i actually had a card from Bolivia, i dont know...neither i will ever figure it out....i even had Bolivia on my list of cards to request since i have none from there...it would have been hilarious if i actually asked for a Bolivian card, got it...and eventually found this one in my drawers....I know, I know I should be glad and grateful for this...I mean, its Bolivia...not really an easy country to get a card from...but hell....this ignorance for ten years (the sender says "La Paz, September 6, 98") is really frustrating me!! If it was some usual country, i wouldnt have felt bothered....i feel bothered coz i somehow have a gem in my collection and i was totally unaware about it!! Aghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

PS. Yeah, i know you are jealous though ;-)

Rannoch Moor, Scotland

Cannes, France (01)

This card was sent to me by one of my former pen-pals, Marianne Schuttauf from Germany, when she went on a summer holiday in Cannes.

As with the rest of my pen-pals, i lost contact with her as well...and i always think it my fault coz once i got to University, all of a sudden, time was pretty scarce, plus for some reason i got lazy in general, and time simply flied too fast, and eventually you realize that its been months since you were supposed to answer that letter....and it lingers and lingers....by the time you write back, its terribly late.....on the other side people also have obligations and cant immediately reply...so before you are able to realize, you've simply lost contact....who knows, maybe a letter had got lost as well.....but its all reasons which contribute to ceasing communication.
Its a pity...Marianne was one of the first people i met who loved Depeche Mode (I met her during my summer course in London) and after she got back in Germany, she sent me a tape of Depeche Mode cover songs...you know, different artists performing DM songs....which was really thoughtful of her...i still keep that tape...its a shame i dont keep my contact with her....

Tallinn, Estonia

This one was sent to me by one of my former pen-friends, Christina Dulley from Sweden while she was on a holiday in Estonia. If I include certain people's full names is coz, with most of them i had lost contact unfortunately, so maybe (even though its like a chance 1:100000000000) someone who knows them ends up reading here, they may recognize them and tell them about it and all...I dont know....But I had really good friends among all those people, its really a pity that due to whatever reason we are not in touch anymore....I even have no idea where are they now, what they are doing, are they ok or no....but i would like them to know im thankful for all the cards they had sent me throughout the years.

Tallinn is the capital and the largest city in Estonia, and it lies on the northern coast of Estonia on the Gulf of Finland. Founded in 1154 it is thought to be Europe's oldest city.
The origin of the name "Tallinn(a)" is certain to be Estonian although the original meaning of the name is debated. It is usually thought to be derived from "Taani-linn(a)", meaning in Danish 'castle/town', after the Danes built the castle in place of the Estonian stronghold at Lindanisse. However, it could also have come from "tali-linna" ("winter-castle/town"), or "talu-linna" ("house/farmstead-castle/town"). The element -linna, riginally meant "fortress" but is used as a suffix in the formation of town names.
(My interest in etymology of names, i take it as professional damage :P sorry if you find it boring or annoying)
On the card you can see Tallinn's medieval Town Hall (Raekoda) where, the Tallinn Old Town has become a part of UNESCO's whs in 1997.