Slovenia

as for my last post today, ive chosen these two Slovenian map cards I had received time time ago...but finally they see the light of the day here. I wont go much into details, coz there are a LOT of details...Ill just briefly give you a summary of whats on them.

this first map card was sent by dear Tina and here apart from the map, you have a dozen of small pictures as well, where you can see as follows:  the Triglav mountain, Bled, Ljubljana, Rogla, Maribor, Bohinj, Moravske Toplice, Ankaran, Rogaška Slatina, Radenci, Izola, Portorož, Jeruzalem, Slovenska obala, Piran, Koper, Terme Čatež and Olimje

as you can clearly see from the cancellation, the card was sent back in 2009.  the stamp was also issued that year, showing the Lovrenc Lakes on Pohorje

the other map card, which is more of the picturesque kind, was sent by dear Tanja as a surprise. here you can see a lot of landmarks all throughout the country, as well as some of the activities you can do in that part. Id love to go and fly with an air-balloon for example....and you?

hope you are having a nice relaxing Sunday...and wishing you a nice week ahead as well :)

Viet Nam

well, my last card for today..is something from 2009...

Ive received a number of Vietnamese cards in the past years, and for some reason, rarely decide to post some of them...so I thought I should do some clearance, and of course, where to start from if not from the back..

Valerie sent me this lovely card from her stay there 3 years ago...the card doesn't say which place it shows in particular..it just says 'peaceful life'..and it definitely earns that caption....something the modern man needs way too much...

the stamp is from a set of 12 bamboo lamps issued in 2009.

thanks a lot Val!

and to all of you...stay warm :)

Tunisia

Well, HELLO and HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all of you!! Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year...whatever you celebrate. I know it is a bit late and that ive been absent for a long while, but you know how life gets around holidays....and I have to admit that I have been in a low mood in general, and now matter how much I forced myself to, in the end I just couldnt get myself to make at least another update before the end of 2011, even though I had already had the cards prepared....but well, lets see how will 2012 go and if Im gonna be more disciplined or things will go even slower...

well I hope you've enjoyed the holidays (except for the ones celebrating Orthodox Christmas - me included - which is yet about to come). I hope this 2012 will bring you the joys of the world you've been desiring whatever that it may be...and of course, many great new postcards from places far and away...postcard-wise, my year started not that bad, however, for this update I will stick to some older cards which had already been foreseen to be posted.

And we will start with Tunisia...one of those countries I have several postcards from thanks to Judit...however, I always realize too late that it's been TOO long between two Tunisia posts.
So here are two great map cards I have.

the one above represents Tunisia in a more cartoon-esque, while the one below in a more picturesque manner...the latter I guess is more helpful in regarding what to see. However, I do in a way prefer the above type of map cards...they are just too cute :))

Never been to Tunisia as you had probably read in some of my previous Tunisian posts...never really been attracted to these Northern African countries...however, right now I sort of regret it coz with all the events around there, I wonder if I will have the chance to pay a visit....you know me...i may not have a huge desire to visit a certain place...but if I get a chance to go there, i would certainly take it, and most probably enjoy it...you just need to know how to make the most out of it and see as much as possible, even if that meant waking up at 7 am and coming back to the hotel after midnight...which was some sort of practice during my holiday in Spain this summer...but it was more than worth it :)

btw, in case you end up receiving a blank postcard in the following days/weeks...it might be from me....ive been rather absent-minded lately and I ended up both sending the same thing twice to someone as well as sending out a totally blank postcard, except for the address and the stamp....embarrassing....

Oma, Norway

Here is something EXTREMELY beautiful!

and so soothing...as the card says, "the island of calm".....and who could oppose to that?
This small beauty with just several houses is the island of Oma situated in the Norwegian Hardangerfjorden, which is the third largest fjord in the world and the second largest in Norway (Sognefjorden is the largest...)
This is like an ideal place to live...as long as I have a boat for transport from and to the island...so far away from the every day stress and chaos...so much fresh air...and I would be able to grow my own fruits and vegetables....ok, depending how much this soil and weather conditions would  be supportive but something must be able to be harvested here.

as the cancellation says, a card I had received in 2009. the large stamp was issued in 2008 representing the New Opera House in Oslo...wow! To me it appeared more like an observatory in the Antarctic region!
The small stamp is a definitive but I cant tell from which year exactly it would be.

thanks a million to Sissel for this beauty of a card!

Calgary, Canada

Here is something pulled out from the 2009 box...2010 is not so bad, but 2011 is as big as both of them, yet, has not enough room for all the cards, so there is a pile that needs to be stored separately...that is an indicator that ive been pretty lousy with updates here since I had allowed such thing to happen...should I make a New Year resolution about it? :)

the card was sent by Glenn  who wanted to share with me this Tower in Calgary. A pretty impressive structure I must say...completed in 1968, it rises nearly 191 metres in the air.
My first thought regard such buildings is always related to the view from above....and this one must be offering a great view over the city and further beyond (just make sure you are not caught up there during an earthquake :))
Personally, would love to have a cup of coffee up there, and a slice of cheesecake (hopefully they have them on the menu)
Did you know that here you also have the highest 360° observation deck in the world??? Cool, no?

Glenn used a whole set of stamps here issued in 2009 featuring the Canadian Recording Artists. What can I do, I only know of Bryan Adams *blush*

thank you Glenn! Though you might have forgotten you had ever sent me this one :)

Dim Sum, Hong Kong

as for my last delicacy today, I picked a Hong Kong card...with a bunch of different foodstuffs....some look sooo yummy, even though I have no idea what they are.

the Dim Sum refers to a style of Chinese food prepared as small bite-sized or individual portions of food traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates. Dim sum is also well known for the unique way it is sometimes served in some restaurants, where fully cooked and ready-to-serve dim sum dishes would be pushed around on steam carts by servers who go around the restaurant offering the dishes to customers and marking orders on a card on each customer's table.

I like that tradition of the Chinese cuisine, eating small portions of food....at the Chinese restaurants here, you are given nothing but a small portion...I guess they've adjusted it to the Macedonian standards :)

the traditional dim sum includes various types of steamed buns and rice noodle rolls which contain a range of ingredients, including beef, chicken, pork, prawns and vegetarian options. Dim sum can be cooked by steaming and frying, among other methods.

well, i think this card is really convenient if you are in China or Hong Kong....just take it with you to the restaurant, and even if you dont know a single word of Chinese, you just point to the meal you'd love to have and voila! :)

the stamp is from the set of 16 definitives issued in 2006 representing birds...this cutie is the Red-whiskered Bulbul. The card was sent from Licia, whom I havent heard from for a long while...in case she reads this, thanks so much again for the great card, and I hope she is doing ok! So....hungry anyone? :)

Doha, Qatar

Well, I planned to make an update yesterday since I had a day off due to a National Holiday, meaning, an extended weekend...but I just got carried away with a bunch of other stuff...so here we are today, with a mix of old and new stuff... first comes the 'old' or more precisely a card I received in 2009...

my second written and stamped card from Qatar here, which to my wild guess, shows a scene in Doha...it just seems logical to me, for this to be Doha, without any intention to look down on any other city or place in Qatar...
the card shows an offshore drilling platform, which i guess is quite common here since Qatar is an oil producing country

did you know that just last week the Emir of Qatar was here for a visit? Yeah, it was quite the news, except that I didnt get the chance to see him...neither his son....neither at one moment i had the impression a guest of such rank was here....Im just really curious to know his impressions from here...I know he had visited the Old Bazaar (my absolutely favourite place in Skopje) and since the place has been in general influenced by the Ottoman architecture, and has a lot of mosques and hammams,  he might have felt like home....

on the side note, if you ever come here, the Old Bazaar is a must....if not, im gonna drag you there :)

the stamp is from a set of 20 insects' stamps issued in 1998. Again, under the address, it said 'via Itay' (I guess they meant 'Italy', though i dont know why via Italy? and it was added additionally by a postal worker,  not the sender...

Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine

Ukrainian cards are often really beautiful...and often cause me trouble with what's on the picture...as now...

so, if im not mistaken, this is the wooden church at the ethnographic museum in Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi. it looks interesting, and actually i keep seeing it as caped with snow and not that actually the 'roof' is white..

if you can see it, there is also a black circle in the middle...I dont know if they stamped the card on the front side too, or this is a mark from the card or letter below/in front of this one...

funny though, while browsing the net, I learned that this city is a sister city to the Macedonian town of Коčani....small world, isn't it? :)

a few nice stamps...the first one is a definitive from a set of 18 flowers  issued in 2006 ....the one in the middle is another definitive from a set of 13 issued in 2008, while the last one is from 2009 set of two stamps commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Birth of Mykola Hohol (1809-1852)....behind this actually hides Nikolai Gogol, and this stamp portrays the Night Before Christmas, the first story in the second volume of the collection Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka. Simply an AWESOME stamp!

Estonia

well, after North Korea, we are moving to Estonia. I was browsing my cards and realized I have 3 from the same set, all received in 2009 as well...so I thought it would be appropriate to post them all.
they all show different Estonian counties, with some particular traditional  clothes for that county, as well as a map and some landmarks...pretty neat!

first is a card showing Harjumaa, situated in northern Estonia, on the south coast of the Gulf of Finland. The capital Tallinn is also in this county. The traditional clothes presented are of the Kuusalu Parish...and you can also see the Jägala waterfall and the Open-air museum in Viimsin.

the stamps are lovely too, corresponding to the traditional clothes moment. the left one is from a set of two costumes' stamps issued in 1995, while the other one was issued in 2001 in another set of two costumes stamps.
Thanks a lot to dear Janek for the card!

the second card here comes from two dear ladies, Katy and Kriszti from the time they met back in July, 2009...wow, it's been that long since?! Time is really freaking me out sometimes =/
They sent me a lovely card of the Läänemaa county, which is located in western Estonia and borders Baltic Sea to the north and is said to be with a long coastline, meadows, forests and bogs.
The traditional clothes on the card are ones of  girl and boy of Lihula. You can also see the Episcopal castle in Haapsalu and at the bottom right corner...a train at a train station!!! LOVELY!!

the stamp was issued in 2009, depicting the Estonian flag.
Thank you so much to both of you!!!!

and the third card of the series, comes again from Janek and shows the Põlvamaa county which is situated in south-eastern part of the country. The card shows traditional clothes of a man and woman of Setumaa; the Taevaskoja Sandstone Cliff in Põlva; the Kiidjärve Water Mill in the Põlva County and the Piusa Caves.

some more lovely stamps here...the one on the left is from a set of 4 stamps issued in 1992 portraying the Baltic Sea, while the other two are from 2001 from a set of 8 fairy tales' stamps.
Thank you again Janek!!!

Los Angeles, USA

ive always liked the image on this one...and I could never be 100% convinced if it is photoshopped or not...the sky I mean...

the back of the card says "The Griffith Park Observatory overlooks the sprawling glitter on the L.A. Skyline"

and it seems it has been featured in a BUNCH of famous movies and series, and most probably I had seen it but had no idea it was this observatory in question...just to list a few...Terminator, Charlie's Angels, Transforms, 24, Mission Impossible, Beverly Hills, Melrose Place, the Wonder Years, Star Trek....and so on and so forth....
In case you want to visit it, it is open 5 days a week, and in general free of charge, except for some shows for a minimal price at the planetarium

so, definitely a MUST see!

the card bears three nice stamps...the clock stamp comes first...in the middle is the 'celebrate' stamp from 2009, while next to it is the Bob Hope stamp, also from 2009.

This reminds me of some dark humour lately...it says "we had Steve Jobs, Bob Hope and Johnny Cash...now we have no Jobs, no Hope and no Cash"....ironic?

Ayvalik, Turkey

I cant say im a collector of doors/windows cards, though ive seen some really nice ones out there...and I like this one too...

again coming from 2009...well, I was simply in the 2009 box....:)

this door is somewhere in Ayvalik which the sender says to mean 'quince garden'. It is a seaside town on the northwestern Aegean coast of Turkey.

well, quite different from the majority of Turkish cards I have...and my one and only from Ayvalik :)

the stamp is from a set of 16 definitives issued in 2005, showing provinces in Turkey. this is the Aydin province.

well, thanks for following and hope you have a great weekend ahead! :)

Germany

next i have some market cards from Germany

DE-935373

The first card came as an official and shows a man selling potatoes. The sender says that this scene is typical in summers and autumns near highways, where people sell potatoes and apples and sometimes blueberries, strawberries and honey.
I absolutely love this card! We have such 'markets' here too, where people sell also potatoes and tomatoes, onion, watermelons etc. And i actually admire when, esp. old people, spend all day long at their improvised stands, waiting for customers...doesnt matter if it is cold or hot, rainy or sunny...they sell their goods, and often it is like their main source of income....so i do like to support these people, and if i have the chance, buy something from them instead at the local super/hyper market...these street vendors often sell  fresher and much more natural goods than compared to the store bought ones...

the stamp was issued in 2009 and portrays the Leipzig Universtiy...


now off to Nürnberg...

I bought a BUNCH of cards when I visited the city back in 2009...and a number of them show the Christmas Market...

we had a really bad timing, coz the week we went there was when they were setting up the place, and it was supposed to open the week after....really a pity, coz from the cards, im SURE I would have enjoyed it and that the atmosphere was AMAZING!

we only had the chance to see a few stands selling some Christmas goods, with vendors dressed in some Christmas-alike clothes....but of course, it is not even near to what the actual market would offer...where there would probably be some nice cinnamon cookies...I LOVE cinnamon cookies...they are so tasty, and they do feel perfect for cold winter days, with or without tea...

The market is in the middle of the city, on the Nürnberg Market Square, and it opens its 'doors' at 5.30 p.m. on the Friday before the first Advent Sunday. Usually, the market has more than 2 million visitors

there are about 180 wooden stalls, festooned with red-and-white cloth, which have given the Christmas Market its name of "Little Town from Wood and Cloth".

well, in general all the cards here are more or less the same, just maybe showing the market from different angles, and the cards' colours are somewhat different :)

Poreč, Croatia

ive posted a number of Croatian cards here, but not one from Poreč....so here it is...

I got this card from dear Rumi, back in 2009, when I more actively participated in RR's.
Well, despite the weather has been really nice here lately, sunny and not so warm...I do long for something like this...the sea (esp. the Adriatic one) is irreplaceable to me..and it is really helpful for the overall state of mind to relax by the sea for a few days...well, i relaxed by the Mediterranean this summer, for a day and a half...and even though it felt great, it just wasnt enough = /

Ive been trying to recall my visits to Croatia from when I was little, but I dont think ive ever been to Poreč actually...and now ive just read that the city has a UNESCO whs as well, the Euphrasian Basilica...i have to dig through my Croatian collection and see if i actually have this...though i think the answer is no, but I really have no idea anymore about what I have and what I dont...and I stared hard at this picture, but i didnt manage to spot the Basilica...well, had to try :)

im not sure how much you can see the label....it has withered away with time...just pity that the postal workers didnt bother much to use stamps....

thank you Rumi for the great card!

Fyn, Denmark

been a while since ive posted something Danish...no wonder I still have cards from Denmark from 2009...

this one shows some bits and pieces from the Danish island Fyn (or Funen in the English speaking world...), which is the third-largest island of Denmark and the 163rd largest island of the world. (ok, not really something to brag about...I mean, 163 is not even in the '100 best')
The main city is Odense (now, ive heard of it, but hadnt really known it belonged to an island..)
Now, the card also shows Tåsinge, an island south of Funen, then Svendborg - the second largest city on the island, then Fyns Hoved - the outer part of the peninsula Hindsholm, the cities of Fåborg and Nyborg and the Lillebaeltsbroen bridge

well, nice compliation...

a very cute Danish stamp coming from a set of 8 stamps issued in 2009, called "Plays in the snow". Just adorable!!!

well, hope you are having a nice week...I mean Wednesday is at the door, so the weekend should be here soon :P

Traditional Zulu Kraal, South Africa

well, just one more card for today (coz im dead beat)

this great card shows a typical village in the rural KwaZulu-Natal countryside where dancers rehearse for a tribal ceremony. KwaZulu-Natal prior to 1994



The Zulu term is umuzi and consists of two concentric palisades of thorn trunks. The huts are located inside the outer palisade and the cattle in the inner circle with a smaller enclosure there for the calves.

The kraal is usually built on a slight slope with the main entrance at the lower end. This enables rainwater to clean the cattle kraal, the ground dries quickly and any foe has to fight uphill. Small huts on poles act as storage huts or watchtowers.

The largest hut, opposite the entrance, is that of the chief's mother. The chief's hut is to the right, the first wife is to the right of the chief's mother, the second wife is to the left of the chief's hut, the third wife to the right of the first wife and so on. The unmarried girls live on the left of the entrance, the unmarried boys, to the right. The two elder sons also vet any visitors and man the entrance around the clock. Visitors are either rejected, expected to wait for an appropriate length of time or ushered in immediately depending on their relation to the family. Those that are allowed in experience the siyakuleka ikhaya display where the gatekeeper sings the praises of the chief. The function of gatekeeper is also very useful in another way in that he will assume the role of chief on his father's death and will be familiar with all those who visited his father and their treatment.

to be honest, i couldnt help but laugh at this kind of division...now i just need to memorize it :)

well, wishing you all a great weekend...and more relaxed than mine :)

till next time...

Cyprus

I was really astonished when i realized that it's been like two weeks since my last post....dont know how I managed to lose track of time....I mean, I knew that my last post didnt happen two days ago, but this was rather shocking.....but life has just given its own reasons...so postcards had to come second or third...

so without further ado....

here is a lovely but undefined card from Cyprus..I have absolutely no idea where this is, and it could be just anywhere in the country...yet the combination of white, blue and purple is beautiful.
recently ive found myself digging into the older boxes of cards, so i somewhat have decided to focus on them more...so today again, all the cards you will see are ones I had received back in 2009....ive realized that among those older cards, i have some rather rare countries as well, and it is really a pity to keep them all hidden..,,

the big stamp is from a set of eight 2008 stamps, named Cyprus through the ages, while the smaller one is the Refugee fund tax stamp...the one that seems to be commonly used on the Cypriot mail

Sanbō-in, Japan

next is a UNESCO card showing the Sanbō-in temple in Japan

as the sender said:
- Sanbō-in is a Buddhist temple in southern Kyoto, known today primarily for the quality of its garden.
Sanbō-in was established in 1582 - 1615. It was a sub-temple of Daigo-ji, which is a Heian period temple founded in 902. The temple complex had fallen into disrepair during the Sengoku period. The garden is designed as a stroll garden with a large pond and several paths and bridges.

definitely looks like a nice retreat from the daily chaos im facing...

and of course, the Japanese stamps are always a challenge for some who doesnt understand a bit of it....surprising how many HK stamps Japan has...this one is from 2008 from a set of ten stamps...the other is that definitive ive shown before, from a set of 3 stamps, issued in 2007

Virgin Komi Forests, Russia

and another lovely UNESCO card here, this one sent by my dear Nastya.

you will have to agree that the nature here is just so tranquil and beautiful....

some terminology clearing up first: virgin forest stands for a forest in its natural state, before being explored or exploited by man. Yeah, sorry for spoiling the fun and if you find the term rather boring, but it DOESN'T mean something else :)

The forests are located in the Northern Ural mountains of the Komi Republic, covering 3.28 million ha of tundra and mountain tundra. This vast area of conifers, aspens, birches, peat bogs, rivers and natural lakes provides valuable evidence of the natural processes affecting biodiversity in the taiga. Dominant tree species include Siberian Spruce, Siberian Fir and Siberian Larch, while the most prominent mammals are the reindeer, the sable, the mink and the hare. The site corresponds to Russia's Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve and Yugyd Va National Park. Its World Heritage Site status was recognised in 1995, making it the first natural World Heritage site in the country

however, people wouldnt be people, if they didnt attempt to ruin everything...

Nastya used two lovely EUROPA stamps (the ones which make me dread when it comes to Macedonia).
The left one is from the 2008 issue related to letters, while the right one (and absolutely delicious) is from the 2005 issue dedicated to gastronomy...yummie!

thank you dear Nastya!!!

Dolphins, Portugal

Ill close the update today with this lovely lovely dolphin card...ive always loved these animals, but having the chance to see them live recently, they absolutely captured my heart for good!

I won this card in a lottery hosted by Joana and this lovely creature here is supposed to be swimming somewhere around the shores of Azores.
Have you ever swum with dolphins? I havent, but i think that it must be one of the most calming things one could do, when you just forget about all the stress and all the problems, and you just let yourself be charmed by one of the most intelligent and friendliest of animals....i wish i lived somewhere near the ocean, and everyday i could go and play with them, feed them, take care of them....but where i live, im stuck with my cats only :)

a city-transport stamp, issued in a set of 3 in 2008.

thank you Joana for the lovely card...and to everyone else who's guilty for making my mailbox happy :)

till soon...

Longstone Lighthouse, England

an official card I received in 2009

GB-89633

It is a great lighthouse card, coming with an interesting story as well. The lady you can see at the top left is known as Grace Darling, and the story goes that her father was a lighthouse-keeper near Bamburgh. In 1838 Grace rowed out in a great storm and rescued five shipwrecked seamen.
She had unfortunately died very young, at the age of 26, four years after her heroic actions.

the stamp is from a set of 8 definitives issued in 2009