Aurora Borealis, Norway

And here comes the beloved Norway!

It was a tough choice. I have literally hundreds of Norwegian cards and a good deal of them feature the Northern Lights. However, I chose this one due to the stamp on the back, the kind of you don't get to see frequently on postcards. On letters, might be, but on postcards, I don't think so.

no, this is not a stamp, it is a MEGA stamp ❤. Yep, the entire mini-sheet is here!
Issued in 1980, for the International Norwex Stamp Exhibition Jubilee, featuring different means of transport. Recently due to unpredicted circumstances I also had to stick a sheet of this size on a postcard, with the difference it was a regular size of a postcard and I had already written on it, so what's beneath the stamp will now remain a mystery to the recipients...
There are two other stamps on this card. The blue one with the lighthouse is from a set of 3 issued in 1977 in a buildings' series, while the other one was issued in 1989 in a set of two, for the 250th anniversary of the public schools.
A whole lot of oldies here - lovely!

Ilimmaussaq and Dyrnaes Valley, Greenland

Hello hello boys and girls, young and old, regulars and new ones...new update, new update! Hurray, hurray!!! Maybe you've been wondering why there has been no update for so long...well, what can I say...it is life...I haven't been in the mood for postcards or anything...actually, it was almost two months that I haven't sent a single card..my absolute record ever since I have started postcrossing...but it came to a halt two days ago when I finally sent some mail...mood still not appropriate..but I think it has taken just way too long and something had to be done...the feeling of owing cards to people really bothered me and I know it is far from fair...and then there are just some cards that have arrived, that are SHOUTING 'post ME, post ME'!

Btw, if you dropped by here during the last days of June, maybe you were surprised to see all images gone..well I was too..actually, on top of everything, when I noticed all the images showing this Photobucket pic, I was devastated! I thought that all the years of effort have gone..that some bug has happened to Photobucket (thats where I host my images) or that some virus has attacked my blog and affected things...I was just lost, and immediately started wondering how long would it take me to replace each of the 1000+ cards featured here, one by one, along with the stamps...the idea made me shudder..I mean, I cant even make a decent update! Anyways, after doing a small search, I realized I had actually reached the 10GB Bandwidth (?!!). I don't know how could this be possible...it is the first time it has happened ever since 2008...and it happens at a time when I have no new posts!!!! I mean, I was glad to have an indication that people are still dropping by, but I just couldn't find the logic behind it all..and I mean, a few days before that I did receive an email from Photobucket, first warning me about it and then telling me I had reached the limit, but I didn't take that seriously one bit..I actually didn't even bother to read it *embarrassed*
Anyways, I was all relieved to see that it is not permanent and that it will be restored..just had to wait for the first day of the month of July for everything to go back to normal. And it did.
Now, I dont want you to stop or come here more rarely due to that...feel free to abuse my 10GB of bandwidth all you want...just don't be surprised if sometimes you maybe come, and see nothing but the same Photobucket bandwidth image :)

Now, back to the cards, one of those "post ME, post ME" screaming cards is this amazing, fantastic, fabulous surprise that arrived from dear Radim..a card, written and stamped from the majestic Greenland itself!! Yay! Yay!! Yay!! I was all shocked when I found it in my mailbox! Shocked in the most positive kind of way, of course :) And what a great card it is..the awesome Aurora Borealis!

As the title says, on the card you should be seeing the Northern Lights over Ilimmaussaq and Dyrnaes Valley. I just don't know if the lights are coming from some inhabited houses or some temporary expedition's places. Still, the card is just soooooooo beautiful...simply calling you out to come here. Esp. now during summer...though it's been a weird one temperature-wise. There are days when it's getting way too hot and then come days when it is chilly and rainy...and well, the weather has just been out of its very mind. And not that Im complaining...as totally not liking the Macedonian heat, I really look forward to these chilly rainy days. Make things a bit more bearable

and I love the great clear cancellation! the two stamps come from 2012; the left one from a set of two stamps representing Norden, Coastline Scenery...while the other one is from a set of two definitves..well, would I be wrong if i say it represents Margrethe II, the queen of Denmark?

Radim, thank you sooo sooo soooooooooo very much! You really spoiled me with this one...not that I mind though :P

Garðskagi Lighthouse, Iceland

next we have one more surprise from dear Sissel from her trip to Iceland earlier this year, from where she made sure she fed my hunger for Icelandic postcards...coz really, i rarely get the chance to receive a card from Iceland...

it is a lovely card, and as the back of the card would say, nature adds its impressive effects as Northern Lights spread above Garðskagi Lighthouse in southwest Iceland, on the Reykjanes peninsula.
There are two lighthouses on Garðskagi, and if im not mistaken, this should be the older one of the two...


and again, we get down to the stamps...when I look at what Sissel is putting on my cards, makes me think i should really really really try harder on my trips and get some nice, not so every day stamps to use on my cards, coz usually, what they give me at the PO is something regular...

this time we have another s/s, showing the Icelandic EUROPA issue for this year...you see, again it is a rather matching stamp, we have a ship here, where the Garðskagi  lighthouse, probably guided it thru the rough seas to reach the shore :)
the small green stamp next to it was issued in 2007, commemorating 100 Years of Forestry in Iceland, while the third stamp is from 2009 and is another commemorative one, of Reykjavík Water Works 100th Anniversary.
Just lovely!!

and another huge thank you Sissel!!!

Oulu, Finland

a train card i had in my favourites for a long long while....and as it usually happens with this, first you dont have it at all, then you get it twice within less than a month :)

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One arrived as an official, the other one for the Surprise me RR. Im thankful to both thoughtful senders! :)
The thing about this card is that, next to the name of Oulu, stands the year of 1967....so it is very logical to think that this shot was taken back then...which in a way i find it surprising, coz to me it seems like a very modern image...but you know, looks can really fool you sometimes :)

still, whether it was taken nowadays or centuries ago, this is still more than a fantastic card and i LOVE it!

as i said, i got this card twice, and one of them (the official one) arrived with the Kimi stamp! (great combination, no...train card plus Kimi stamp!) Btw, im really mad at Kimi for not going back to F1....not that it matters, anyways :)

the other card came with the 2008 Christmas stamp called "Frosty night" 

Dog-sledging under the Northern Lights, Norway

Well, Ill close today's update with another view to enjoy..

i know it is Norway Im talking about, but im not being biased...I think that wherever in the world this was, I would have loved this card just equally. The northern lights just know how to charm a postcard. I dont know where exactly in Norway this is, but it is not as if it matters after all...

And thanks a lot to Sissel for always enriching my precious Norwegian collection...and for always finding such fantastic cards to send me. Shall I mention how stunned and excited I was to receive an official card from her not so long ago? Yup, postcrossing is fantastic, in case you hadnt known that.....:)

the stamp is from a set of two EUROPA stamps from the Children's books issue of last year, presenting "Grandma and the eight children", books by Anne-Cath. Vestly.

till next time...

Alaska, USA

well, ill finish this update today with one fantastic card....an Auroras card coming from my beloved Alaska!!

as the back of the card says: "the moon shines down on the Arctic Ocean with Alaska's Northern Lights".
Ive had this card in my favourites for a long while... I couldnt believe it when I found it in my mailbox! What a fantastic surprise from Bryon...who really is generous with sending cards when travelling...thanks so much to him for all the lovely surprises that have arrived in my mailbox lately...and for choosing such awesome cards and stamps for me!

And just take a look at the stamps on this card!! (Im referring to the Auroras' stamps :))

I still miss an Aurora Australis postcard in my collection, but for starters I have a stamp of it...these two beauties were issued in 2007 as a part of the International Polar Year mini sheet. LOVELY!!
You are familiar with the lamp and the clock...while the red stamp is a circus wagon issued in 1995.

Have a great week ahead everyone...and wish me luck with mine...im gonna need it....

The Khibiny Mountains, Russia

And another of the cards that arrived yesterday...a simply fantastic one!!

For some reason it always feels special to see some Northern lights in Russia...the card shows Khibiny, which is one of the two mountain ranges of the Kola Peninsula within the Arctic Circle (in the Murmansk region).
The mountains are mostly uninhabited, except for one of the world's richest mineral quarries, with approximately 10% of all new minerals discovered there, including one that can potentially absorb radioactivity from nuclear waste. By the foot of the massif the cities of Apatity and Kirovsk are situated.

it is simply a breathtaking card and I got it thanks to Natalia in the favourites-tag.

And Natalia used two lovely stamps too, coming from a set of 3 lighthouse stamps, issued in 2006.

Canada

Another surprise card, this time coming from Glenn.

You know I love the Aurora Borealis, and I have a number of postcards with them so far, but this is my first one that actually doesnt come from Europe, but from Canada...and it is really nice to take a glimpse how the northern lights look there...though to be honest, if you just show me the pictures and remove the names from the cards, I wont be able to tell the difference :)

Here is a video which in particular shows the phenomenon as seen in Canada

And something from the Year of the tiger issue, 2010. Great stamp, with an imprinted seal as well, which unfortunately cant be noticed through the scanned image. Btw, this is actually supposed to be a mini sheet, but it is torn on the left side, so a part of it is unfortunately missing =[

as always, thank you Glenn for remembering me and sending me such a beautiful card :)

Aurora Borealis, Finland

A card I got as a surprise from dear Micaela....and which obviously had a nice trip to Macedonia.

I dont really mind it much it got into this condition...still its in one piece still, and its nice to feel a card has really travelled....I WOULD prefer though if postal workers were a bit more careful when handling mail and cards which are out of the regular postcard range.

Here you can actually see a collection of a number of different postcards related to the Northern Lights, and I do own half of them I think :)

here is something to enjoy....you can turn on the speakers as well....the music is nice and interesting

a self-adhesive stamp from a set of 3 issued in 2009, depicting Northern Lights of course. Just makes me wonder, is Finland completely turning towards self-adhesive stamps? What about people who collect used stamps, you cant take these off from an envelope, unless you just want to keep the piece of paper along with the stamp as well, which personally i dont like much....

Aurora Borealis, Finland

Im starting to feel guilty...since i didnt do ANY of the reading i was supposed to do and which i said i would simultaneously do while writing here...

Actually, i started clearing up my PC and then my keyboard ceased working and then i had to do all the restart and then got carried away with my cats...uhmm, i guess ill just share this last card for today and get down to some work
As you already know, i LOVE the Northern Lights even though i still cant comprehend in a simple human language how they actually work. But i love it that they come in such different colours....this is like someone from above is landing down on Earth....in some movies i had watched, when aliens or just anyone had to come down from the space, such lights would appear to lighten up the way and announce the coming and all.
Btw....i have this card twice....just a few posts before i was talking about this double card issue...when i got it for the second time, of course, a small shadow of disappointment ran over me...but then i saw the stamp (the second one here) and i was WOW...finally i got it :) And i got both of the cards in tags, which still means a lot, knowing that people DO care to fulfill my wishlist :)

this stamp was issued in 2007 and comes from a set of 2 depicting Fine Arts, Classical Architecture, with Antiques as subject

and this other AWESOME stamp which i know many of you know by know, is that famous 3D stamp with the guy on skis who moves down the mountain if you move the stamp back and forth. It was issued in 2008 and comes from a set of 4 depicting Winter Sports, with this one in particular showing Alpine Skiing. It is also self-adhesive (of course)

hmmm, ok...i need to check on the washing machine and do at least a bit of the reading i have to do....thanks for reading!

till next time...

Pallastunturi, Finland

Morning everyone! Well, its morning indeed! For a CHANGE, i had managed to get up rather early (before 9 am, and that IS early for me) and more surprisingly, i dont feel really tired and all. Lately, ive been feeling awfully tired (i will again probably by tonight coz its gonna be a busy busy day) and my eyes start to close before midnight, and by 1am, i just feel totally incapable to keep them open or to do anything and all i want to do is sleep sleep sleep! Which may not be awkward, but if you knew me better, you would know that i actually barely can go to sleep before 3 am or even later, even if i feel tired, and then, the next day i can sleep for 24 hours if i could....but these past few days ive been having a real problem and could just barely make it by midnight.....I wonder for how long this kind of sleeping routine with me is gonna last....usually, its not much, and i just go back to my 'insomniac' attitude...but well, thats not really the issue of the updates here....all i wanted to say was that even though i need to go to work early, im still able to actually make an update BEFORE i go, coz apart from having time, i even found all the stuff needed for later, so i just feel like i could allow myself to post here...otherwise i doubt i will be able to do it till tomorrow or even Thursday....

and ok, lets get down to some business actualy...how i started, i will end up having no time to actually post the update with so much rant :D
You know that I love Finland and Aurora Borealis and all....but this here, has got to be one of the MOST magnificent Aurora Borealis cards i have seen. Its BLUE!!!! Well, ok, Bluish, but the blue colour is really predomonating and in contrast with the snow and the trees its just amazing! And its a huge card as well! And i just love it!
And im EXTRA EXTRA thankful to Essi for actually sending it to me! It was a great surprise and a very pleasant one! Essi, Kiitos!! :)  (if there is one thing i learned with postcrossing is how to say 'thank you' in a number of languages).
I would really love to experience the Aurora Borealis for real one day. I wanna know how it feels...to see the tremor of the lights, to hear if there is some sort of a sound (like the sound of the snowflake when its snowing, which you can best experience when all around is still and quiet...)....i think that its just a unique and one of a kind feeling....worth experiencing!
Ok...i wont bore you with details and facts and theories about the Auroras....ill just put something for you to enjoy...i even think i was able to go a step further in my comprehension of the Auroras in general, after watching this...

Aurora Borealis, Finland

here is one of the occurences in the world which totally fascinate me and which i really would love to see it live one day...i really wish i understood physics better, so i could analyze and understand in depth, how all this works and why do they occur...i know the general definition and i do grasp it...but i would love details...i would love to know what makes them vary in colours, and sometimes they are bluish, sometimes greenish, sometimes even red...and if maybe a particular colour can be invoked somehow...

the back of the card says: When the particles of the solar wind hit the atmoshpere of the earth, the oxygen of the air flares in a greenish light. I wish i could comprehened this cut down to the slightest details...

Ive talked of the Aurora Borealis before, so i wont be repeating myself over again...should i mention, i have several Auroras on stand by....ill just give you some links or nice things to watch....and while im on the subject, anyone cares to send me an Aurora Australis card? I would really love to have it as well...


i thought this video was educational...for the basics...and it also gives you a thrill of the Auroras....unfortunately, i cant embedded in the post, so you'll have to click on the link...


A Nasa Video about the Auroras

why are they sooo magnificient?!

Aurora Borealis, Finland

This has got to be the longest card ive ever seen in my life...not just received, but seen!!! Pity you cant see the actual size here, but in length its exactly 29.5 cm....so, if you want, you can check how much that is actually...and how long this card is...and I simply LOVE IT!! Not just coz its so unique due to its length, but its showing the Aurora Borealis as well....and you know how much I love that phenomenon!!

 

I have my greatest thank you's to Anja for choosing this card...I dont know if she chose it coz of its length, in order to make the stamps fit...or it was just at random...whichever it was...this card is perfect, and I love it!!

My initial request were actually the stamps...not the card...ever since the Finnish post office issued the Kimi Raikkonen edition, i went for a hunt...and as I told you yesterday, today i feature the stamps...you have no idea how great they look on a postcard...and Anja was so kind to actually send me both of the stamps as a sheet in whole...not just the Raikkonen one....cant say more, except AWESOME!!

And thank you so much Anja for helping me with this...and im sorry for being so annoying with all this Kimi request :D :D :D

 

I feel so content about this....and Raikkonen is gonna start second at tomorrow's Chinese Grand Prix...ok,,,the chances for the title are gone..but still, he should fight to win races...if the title is lost, doesnt mean he should give up on winning the races, right?

Finland

My FIRST Aurora Borealis card!!!!!!


Ive been wanting for so long for someone to send me a card with Aurora Borealis, and finally here it is....

"The Northern lights are flaming in the frost nights on the northern hemisphere"

Auroras are natural colored light displays in the sky, usually observed at night, particularly in the polar zone, typically occurring in the ionosphere.
They are named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora and the Greek name for north wind, Boreas.

Now, when i find an explanation of how and why they occur in SIMPLE English, ill elaborate it here as well.....a VERY SIMPLE English.....maybe if someone draws it to me in detailed steps...i dont know....but photons, protons, electrons, molecules etc etc, have NEVER been my strong side....unfortunately...