Tahkuna Lighthouse, Estonia

Another lighthouse from Janek on today's menu.

This is the Tahkuna Lighthouse on the Tahkuna Cape, on the Hiiumaa Island. It was completed in 1875 and is the highest cast-iron tower in Estonia, whose height is 43 m. It has remained unchanged since its construction.

two beautiful lighthouse stamps on the back! The one on the left, showing the Vaindloo Lighthouse was issued in 1996, while the other one, issued in a set of two in 2005 shows the Norrby upper lighthouse (the other stamp in the set shows the Norrby Lower Lighthouse)

Suurupi Lighthouses, Estonia

I really great maxi-card from Estonia that has been neglected since 2011...don't know why...

Here you can see the two Suurupi lighthouses; the Suurpi rear lighthouse, which was completed in 1760 (the one on the left) and the Suurupi front lighthouse (the one on the right) which was built in 1859 and is the oldest and currently the only wooden lighthouse still functioning in Estonia. It acquired its final shape after several alterations in 1888.

Suurpi, btw, is a small village in Estonia :)

there are three stamps on the back...the two below the airmail sticker were issued in 2011 in a set of five from the Post Horn series. The other one is a definitive from 2007.

Tartu, Estonia

I decided to end today's update with this Estonian card

I've already written about Tartu, and here now we have these two cool statues...you may be recognizing the guy on the left...one of my all time favourite writers...Oscar Wilde!! While across is an Estonian writer called Eduard Vilde...and this installation is actually called "Two Wildes" and its author is some guy called Tiiu Kirsipuu.
These two have never met, but Tiiu seems to have been inspired by their similar last name and by the fact that they also lived at about the same time. Oscar lived from 1854-1900, while Eduard from 1865 till 1933.
I've never read something by the latter and I don;t know if some of his works can be found in English here (im like more than sure it is a no-no when it comes to Macedonian). But I would really like to read something coming from his pen...and if you have some particular book to recommend, would be happy to hear about it :)
Btw, I think I have whined before about the kitschy Skopje 2014 Project...and statues and monuments are a great part of it...makes my teeth cringe, for many reasons...if you care to see more and be all WTF, just click here...and I cant help it but make comparisons...the above pictures invokes admiration...the project in my hometown...erm, definitely a descriptive word that should be censored =)
But at least the tourists often have a good laugh about it, wondering where's the sense in all that...unfortunately, I do not have the answer...I just am appalled and frustrated.

and a stamp from this year's EUROPA theme of postal vans...Estonia issued two stamps for this occasion.

well, off to seize the rest of the day =)

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!!!

Ruhnu, Estonia

A card that came from Janek...last year...

It is from the island of Ruhnu, where you can see two churches. The wooden church dates back from 1644 and is one of the oldest wooden buildings in Estonia. The Lutheran church next to it was built in 1912 and is the place where services are currently held.

here are three lovely stamps...the middle and the right one come from a booklet of 8 stamps issued in 2001 under the title "Fairy tales"...the left one is part of 4 stamps issued in 1992, under the subject "Baltic Sea" (all four stamps represent birds)

Thanks so much to Janek for always picking such interesting stamps! And i hope he is doing ok...been a long while since ive seen him around...

Kaali Lake, Estonia

Ive written about Saaremaa before, but this Estonian island doesnt cease to amaze me,

This time im presenting you Kaali, which is a group of 9 meteorite craters. Formed in the 7th century BCE, it is one of the most recent craters created by an impact event and the only known major impact event that has occurred in a populated area.
The crater on the card is referred to as the main and the biggest one.

And to my liking, some mythology interfering too!

One day a young man stepped up to the God of Sun and claimed that he was Phaeton, the son of the God of Sun himself and an earthborn woman Klymene. The young man had doubted his high parentage and demanded affirmation. The God of Sun admitted it, and, as an affirmation, promised to carry out his fondest wish. The boy, who had often admired sun disc's journey across the firmament, uttered an unexpected wish: he wanted to drive the sun chariot across the sky.

Hearing that, the God of Sun regretted his easily given promise. He tried to persuade the youngster to wish for something else, but without success. The boy, taking no heed of the menaces he was told about, had his will. At first the drive came off quite well and Phaeton felt himself almost the lord of the sky. But then the things took a tragic turn: the spirited horses, feeling that the reins were in weak hands, became frisky and sheered from the right direction. The youngster lost power over the horses, who now dashed up to the skies, now turned right down to the Earth so that forests and fields there caught fire, rivers and fountains evaporated and dried out.

When the cries and lamentations from the Earth reached Jupiter's ears, the latter, in this emergency, seized his lightning bolts and punished the irresponsible charioteer. The blazing Phaeton shot through the air and fell on the Earth into the mysterious river of Eridanos, which no mortal eye has seen. Phaeton's sisters Heliads, daughters of the God of Sun, Helios, sought out their brother's grave to bemoan him there. The mourning sisters were turned into poplar trees on the banks of Eridanos

and some very nice stamps...the first one is a definitive from 2007, showing a Wig Knapweed. The second and the fourth one are from 1997, a Christmas stamp and one with Folklore costumes respectively. The third stamps is from 1994, representing the International family year.

Sõrve lighthouse, Estonia

A lovely lighthouse card sent by Janek

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!

Tallinn, Estonia

My dear Katy sent me this FANTASTIC train postcard!! As lovely as it can be!

It shows a photograph taken back on 19 August, 1924 and if im not wrong, it can nowadays be seen at the Nõmme Museum which is located in one wing of the historical Nõmme Railway Station, and it introduces the history of Nõmme as an independent town in the period 1926 – 1940 and also the earlier years of the area from the foundation of Nõmme by Nikolai von Glehn at the end of the 19th century. The exhibits have been gathered from the inhabitants of Nõmme and received from Tallinn City Museum, where some of the collections of the first Nõmme Museum were stored. In addition to permanent exposition temporary exhibitions are also held at the museum.

and for the complete pleasure, Katy added train stamps too! <3. It was issued in 2000, representing the Viljandi-Tallinn railway.

Thank you so much Katy!!

Tallinn, Estonia

21st June apart from being the first day of summer, is also the day with the longest daytime. Well here is one card especially dedicated to 2st of June

In Tallinn, the northern part of the sky doesnt get completely dark during nights from the 10th of May until the 2nd of August, but the time of "white nights" - the time when the whole sky stays luminous even at midnight (except if it is very cloudy) - begins in the last days of May and lasts until the middle of July. In summer, the astronomical midnight (the darkest time of the night) in Tallinn is at 1.21am (timezone GMT+ 3). Nights are the brightest for about 10 days before and after summer solstice (21 June)
This phenomenon has fascinated me since i was a kid....how some countries have months of daylight only and then months of darkness...though im not sure id prefer the total daylight time, since im more a night kind of person.

Speaking of the first day of the summer...it was soooo summerish here....raining all day long and just freezing...crazy....last week i was melting in the unbearable heat and now we have something that feels like late late autumn...but ok, i rather have this than the last week's 40 degrees....I just wish it didnt rain too often coz I need to go to the PO sometimes :)

As for the card itself, it portrays the St. Olaf's Church at midsummer midnight.
This church is nowadays 123.7m high. From 1549 to 1625, when the upper part of its tower was higher than today, St. Olaf's church was the tallest building in the world, 159m.

the stamp is from the EUROPA's astronomy issue of 2009.
Well I received this card last year but since I was out of town, I couldnt post it on the exact date, and felt it was inappropriate to post it at any other day...so here it is now!

And im really sorry for posting just one card today but im really in no state of mind to post more...after yesterday's events im still in some sort of utter disbelief of everything that happened, and im really out of focus. No no, its nothing bad...actually yesterday was sooo damn good that today, reality feels so depressing ...I wish i could have days like yesterday more often...they really bring me to life....

Pakri, Estonia

A card from my favourites, sent by Janek :)

And you may not notice it at first, but there is a lighthouse on the card :)
The Pakri Peninsula ends in the sea with a limestone cliff up to 25 metres high. Pakri lighthouse is the highest (52m) lighthouse in Estonia.

Just a lovely view, and would be great to have a car-ride along the coast.

Aaannndddd, on a lighthouse postcard, there are EVEN 3 lovely lighthouse stamps!!! And one stamp is indeed the Pakri lighthouse!
Starting with the flower stamp though, it's a self-adhesive stamp from 2007, regarding the Flora subject, and showing an Oxeye Daisy.
The Ristina and the Kopu lighthouse' stamps come as one set issued in 2000, while the Pakri lighthouse stamp was issued in 1995.

Kihnu Island, Estonia

This card is from 2008, but just now got to see the light of day...actually, i realized its the only Estonian card left from that year, so i thought it would be nice to post it and move on to 2009 and of course 2010, and not get too much behind...

the card shows the Kihnu Lighthouse on the Kihnu Island, Gulf of Riga, in Estonia, of course.
The lighthouse composed of parts constructed in England, was installed in 1865. Its height from bottom is 28m, light altitude is 29m - from the back of the card.

Thanks a lot Janek for another great card with great stamps as well :)

the stamp on the left is from 1997, representing the Wastne Testament,the New Testament’s translation into the South-Estonian dialect,  published in Riga in 1686. And I dont know whats wrong with me today, but i dont know anything about the other stamp, except that it was issued in 2007

Haapsalu, Estonia

A great card from dear Janek, who sent me a train card just right after i had put them on my wishlist!! Thanks so much Janek!!! :D

Estonian Railway Museum is located in the Emperor's Pavillon of the historic Haapsalu railway station. Belonging Locomotives and railcars to the museum are exhibited behind the station building and can be visited free of charge. 10-18 Museum is open all year round from Wednesday to Sunday. Discount of 10% is available for groups over 25 people.

I think that if i ever get to Estonia, this will be on the top list of things id love to see...and id love to take my dad there too...as a gift for him.

and a set of amazing stamps!
the small one on the left is a definitive issued in 2006 under the subject of Flora, representing the Liverleaf. The two big stamps were issued in 2002 regarding the 10th anniversary of the reintroduction of the Estonian Kroon. This souvenir sheet features the portraits of the poetess Lydia Koidula and the journalist, writer and teacher Carl Robert Jakobson, key elements of the 100 and 500 kroon notes respectively.

thanks a lot Janek...as alqwa

Lahemaa, Estonia

A really nice card from Janek...though i had no idea what Lahemaa actually was until i searched the info for it. On the first glimpse, it reminded me of a summer resort i went to when i was in the 1st grade :)

But Lahemaa is the oldest and largest national park in Estonia, representing the nature and cultural heritage, typical of this country. And on the card you can see the Sheds for fishing nets at the Altja fishing village. It is an example of the fishermen village and life style as it has been in the old days and as it is now, Altja is so-called living coastal village and it dates back from the 15th century.
There is one place i came across, where the farmhouses in this village are said to remind of *gingerbread houses from fairyland*. Cute description :)

and here come two great stamps, where the one on the right is just fascinating!
The small stamp on the left was issued in 1996 and shows an Icebreaker called Suur Tõll, which is the only surviving steamship from Estonia’s prewar period of independence, a symbol of the continuity of Estonian seafaring.
The huge stamp on the right is from the 2004 EUROPA issue, simply called Holiday, representing the sport of Windsurfing just as one of the many leisure activities you can do while on holiday.
I have a story to share with you regarding the Macedonian EUROPA issues...but ill leave it for some other post with a EUROPA stamp...its not a nice story anyway...though i think it needs to be shared, esp. with all those stamp collectors out there who are particularly interested in the EUROPA issues.
Thank you Janek, for the great card and the fabulous stamps!

Estonia

Well, i think i should speed up with my updates, coz im REALLY left behind...i often think that i will never be able to post all my cards....even if lets say i decide to terminate all my postcards activity today, i would still have enough cards to post in the next 6 months...scary, no?
And here is a perfect card according to my wishlist thanks to Janek!  A map card!! Wohoohoo!! :))

While observing this map, i realized that i actually dont really know where exactly those Estonian cities are situated and that my concept about them is totally different from where they actually are....but thats why i have cards like this to teach me more...in a fun way :) Yeah, its more fun to learn things like this then read  Wikipedia articles...

I love the prevail of the green colour...it gives me the idea of Estonia being one huge endless field, with lovely green grass where there are many animals, cows, goats, horses....and the cows give high-quality fresh milk, since there is no pollution and they are healthy and the grass they are eating is fresh and clean...and then that milk is used for production of delicious chocolate, that taste like fantasy...and then there is the surrounding sea from which comes a lovely breeze, and there is constant spring, and the weather is always nice and warm and it simply radiates with happiness....

Well...just a small Utopia :)

hmmm, im still searching for the ideal size of the stamps i need to post here...when i select medium, they seem small...when i select 'large' they may seem even larger than the postcard...but i really want them to be visible enough instead being some miniature picture...i guess i still need to work on that part a bit...

 

these two stamps come from a mini-sheet issued in 1995, featuring the Finno-Ugric or Uralic people, their culture, languages and writing...the artifacts on these two stamps are: the stamp on the left portrays a duck-foot necklace, while the stamp on the right portrays a Karelian writing on a birchbark.

Janek, thank you, as always :)
  

Väikejärv, Estonia

Another Friday...another busy weekend ahead...another Postcard Friendship Day...and another week that has been absolutely scarce on mail! This entire week, believe it or not, i received one postcard and one letter...for the whole week!
I really really hope that next week will be a fruitful one! Well, i said the same thing exactly last week as well...and look what happened  :| But i really think that its about time that the following one brings a fuller mailbox...i sent out a bunch of mail today...and i have some reminiscents that i couldnt manage to finish and will be sent out next week...but I send..therefore, i should receive...right? :) Wasnt that the motto? :)

Well, for Friendship Day...a lovely heart sent by my dear Katy....
I loved this card ever since i saw it in someone's album....i thought it was ultimately cool...i just wondered if this lake really existed or no...
Apparently it does exist, coz from what ive read, on google earth, it does appear heart-shaped from above.
The only problem i have is that i cant really find much information about it on the web...except that it is situated somewhere in South Estonia, in the Viljandi County..
I just wonder if its naturally heart-shaped, or a human touch had helped in it...either way, its a lovely lake and makes a cool postcard
And Katy was kind to provide me with a link so you can see the lake from above ...just zoom and click on 'satellite' and you will have a nice glimpse of it :) 

Ironically...regarding Friendship and PFF...lately due to a number of events, ive been wondering who my real friends are.....ive been feeling rather disappointed...it rather hurts...

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone who celebrates it, to anyone to whom it has the slightest of significance, to everyone out there who treasures it for the love and friendship.
Well personally I dont celebrate Valentine;s...Ive never have...for the simple reason that its a Catholic holiday...Macedonia's main religion is Orthodox Christian...but years ago people started celebrating Valentine;s Day here as well....probably coz they thought its fancy and markets and companies thought it would be a great way to earn money out of it...coz lets face it, everything that gets modern is money consuming...and what bothers me most is that here people celebrate Valentine's Day for the wrong reasons...so if you are with someone, then by default you celebrate Valentine's Day coz the calendar says so, not coz you truly believe in it...i like it that people can express their love and affection but then on the other hand, i dont like the idea of doing it on this day only...just as mother's day...i prefer to give my mum a gift on a day she least expects it than on the one where im somewhat obliged to do so...
Valentine's also somewhat depresses me, coz people so much emphasize it and in general make me feel more aware im alone...yeah, more or less ive always been alone on this day and even if i wasnt, that someone wasnt physically present so again i felt alone....thats why i dont like these holidays....they are all about being with people around you at times when i maybe dont feel like being with people....and that's just depressing...

Here on the other hand we have a holiday called St. Trifun. St. Trifun in Macedonia is considered the patron of the fields, patron of the grape fields and grape growers.

The holy martyr Trifun was born in Kampsada in Phrygia, near the town of Apameia. His healing abilities were manifested already in his childhood, when he was still tending the geese. He healed various diseases and freed people from evil demons. The stories of the miracles he performed reached far, and one day he was summoned by the Roman Emperor, Gordian, to heal his dauther Gordiana who suffered from a mental illness which no physician could heal. Trifun soon healed her, gaining even greater fame as a result.
St. Trifun died as a martyr during the rule of the Emperor Decius. He was summoned before the Emperor's regional administrator, Acquillian by name, and ordered to renounce Christ and make offerings to the Roman gods. Having refused, Trifun was tortured. He was tied to a tree and beaten with a stick, then tied to a horse's tail and dragged through the fields, and when all this failed to frighten him into changing his mind, they threatened to cut off his head. But as the soldiers were leading him outside the town to behead him, St. Trifun prayed to the Lord to take his soul, so that when they reached the place of execution his soul had already passed to God. This happened on 14th February 248, according to some in 250, when the holy martyr St. Trifun was only 21 years old.

Well, back to the Valentine's...there is a bright side on it, and that is that apart from celebrating love, it also celebrates friendship...and that is something i can accept coz ive barely seen anyone celebrating Valentine;s coz of the friendship...but thats why there are the GTKY ladies...and as it happened for Christmas, a Valentine's Flamingo was organised again...and i got a number of wonderfully hand-made cards from the ladies..with really nice thoughts and quotes...i think im really happy to know those girls
Here are the cards i had received so far...as it was for Christmas, i wont post the quotes or the personal messages....hope you have nothing against that :)

from Chrissy in the USA

from Essi in Finland

from Marta in Portugal

 

from Ana in Portugal

from Katy in Estonia

from Relie in Singapore

from Valerie in France

as i receive the rest of the cards, they will be posted below. Just want to say an enormous Thank You to to GTKY gang for being who they are and for befriending me in the first place...luv ya girls!

Saaremaa, Estonia

Here is where Janek again comes to stage....this time with this amazing amazing postcard of a lighthouse...more over, its from my wish list...do you know that special feeling when you go to your wishlist album and under the postcard you write 'received'?! Well, its a feeling one of a kind :)

This is the Kiipsaare lighthouse of Harilaid. 

In a reverse to most stories about global warming and erosion damaging our lighthouses, an inactive lighthouse in Estonia, the Kiipsaare Lighthouse on the island of Saaremaa, has actually straightened up due to erosion. The tower, constructed in 1933, began to list to one side (due to erosion) around 1991. A comparison of photos taken in 1981 and 1990 shows that the coastline had eroded at a rate of three meters (about 10 feet) per year. As the water edged closer to the lighthouse, the waves slammed the tower, and sucked the sand from underneath the base. A story in the Batic Times says the return to the straight and narrow was first noticed by a keeper at a nearby nature preservation center on January 25 of this year.

Well, if it has the same destiny as the leaning tower in Pisa, then its not gonna fall down any time soon. It will be a pity if that happens...but if it does, i will be glad to have this memory of it :)

And last, but not least, please take a look at the awesome stamps...again a matching stamp with a lighthouse!! Lovely, just lovely!!

Janek, thank you for everything!

GTKY Christmas Cards

Hello Hello Hello! For the first time this year :)
Hope you have had a nice New Year's eve and that this year had a great start....mine was nice, just that it seems that i cant get enough sleep in general :)
Do you people make New Year Resolutions? I try not to, but ive made some this year, and i hope ill have the strength to stick up to them...and if you made resolutions as well, im wishing you all the necessary strength in the world so you keep up with them...*fingers crossed* :)

Well, enough chit-chat, lets show some stuff here...as its most convenient, i think, this is the time to show Christmas related stuff, no? So thats why todays posts will be all Christmas related

The first one is dedicated to the Christmas cards received through the GTKY thread....we arranged there with the ladies a nice Christmas Flamingo :) We were supposed to send each other Christmas cards, but with some rules applied...the cards HAD to be handmade and they had to have a quote/poem inside...so even though im totally anti-artistic, i decided to join, coz i knew if i didnt i would regret it...and im more than pleased to have done so....maybe my art skills suck, but what mattered eventually is the friendship...as we say, the cards were made with love, friendship, glue and paper :) So its the thought that counts....and here is what my thoughtful friends sent to me (im still waiting for the last one to arrive, and once it does, ill edit the post and post it here...)
No comments this time....i think the cards feel too personal and comments may just ruin the moment this time...so just feel the thoughtfulness and the friendship that comes along with them :)

The cards are posted in order they had been received...

from Marta in Portugal

from Essi in Finland

from Katy in Estonia

from Sally in New Zealand

from Valerie in France

from Charlotte in UK

from Carol in USA

from Ula in Poland

from Relie in Singapore
these are actually two Christmas cards, so i posted both of them

from Wendy in Jamaica

Enormous thanks my friends! Its been a pleasure to take part in this and share the Christmas spirit with you :)

*Hugs to you all*