Forks Marketplace, Canada

My last card for today (yeah sorry, 4 cards only) is one I received back in 2009, showing the Forks Marketplace in the Canadian Winnipeg.

From what Ive read, once you are in Winnipeg, this place is a must-to-see and a favourite tourist destination.
Located in the heart of downtown Winnipeg, at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, providing you many different opportunities to eat, shop or just relax.
The two rivers freeze during the winter, so you can also skate if you prefer.
Well, I would most probably exploit the cycling/rollerblading facilities.

I think that one of the things I love in Skopje is that SOMETIMES i have the opportunity to go cycling without too much trouble, just by the river Vardar...it is nice in the early morning when it is not crowded...otherwise, in the afternoons, esp. during the summer, it reminds you more of a catwalk with models on bikes and rollerblades...and cycling on the streets of Skopje is like suicide, coz you have no cycling paths and the pavements are always occupied by cars...or are in a reconstruction mode...or just have so many holes that neither the best bike-amortization will save your dear bicycle. So thats why I often wish I was in the Netherlands or Copenhagen or Paris...just for the cycling culture these places have...

anyways, enough of yada-yada :)

there are a number of stamps on this card, all different....the one on the very right is from a set of 4 sports stamps issued in 2009, representing the Ringuette (one of those sports I dont know much about...I think that just every day I see some newly invented sport out there). The stamp next to it is also from 2009 and is called "Montreal Canadians". Another 2009 stamp from the `Lest we forget` issue. The last two are from a set of 8 Handicrafts stamps issued in 1999.

So that would be all for today...hope you are enjoying your Sunday, regardless that Saturday was quite full with some not-so-nice events, following what happened in Norway as well as the death of Amy Whinehouse...that one came as a shocker, even though we all know what kind of life she led, but still.....such news always come out of the blue.

hugs to all!

Tongariro National Park, New Zealand

Next comes a fabulous card from New Zealand...showing the National park Tongariro....

I once wrote about it, so you can read some additional details about Tongariro here. The difference is that on this card the volcanoes are under snow which just makes the view extra beautiful...plus here you can see one more volcano, and that is Mt. Ruapehu, which is also one of the most active volcanoes in the world and the largest active volcano in New Zealand, with its highest elevation of 2,797 m.
The back of the card says: "This tranquil photo belies the fact that these volcanoes have been among the most active in the world in the 20th century".

btw, 'aoteaora' (the caption you can see on the card) is the most widely known and accepted Māori name for New Zealand

the stamp is from a set of 6 issued this year, under the subject of "kapa haka" which refers to the cultural dance of the Māori people.

Sheep, Ireland

Well, since both of the cards represent Irish sheep, I decided to include them together in one post.

the first card came as a swap...and it shows a fantastic scene of sheep at the Dunquin Pier, on the Dingle Peninsula...quite an interesting path to climb.

these sheep here come from the Derryclare Lough in Connemara...

Have you noticed the beauty of the Irish cards? Not just coz of the scenery...but they simply make them in a way, that these cards look stunning...they have great photography, lovely colours, clear images...I wish our printing houses/photographers paid more attention to this...im pretty sure we would have much more amazing cards to offer.

This second card comes from the Ireland vs Other Countries RR...and arrived written and stamped.

the stamp is probably the most common one you would see on Irish cards..or at least the flower theme is common on the Irish stamps...this one is from a set of 3 Wild Flowers' stamps issued in 2008, representing the Sea aster.

thank you for following, and if you are anticipating Friday as much as I am, im wishing you a great fulfilling weekend!

CK 101, Taiwan

And ill close this post today with another train card, which I received back in 2009 for the Slavic RR.

I cant really tell you much about this train coz the text on the back is all in Chinese...except that this train had been made by the Japanese, who called it C44 and later, after WWII it became CK101 . At least thats what the sender has written, so dont shoot the messenger :) It is simply a great card to have!

the stamp is from a set of 4 Orchids' stamps issued in 2006.

have a great week ahead everyone...and see you soon :)

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkey

Next card for today comes from dear Pinar, sent for the Turkey vs the World RR.

The card shows Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( a Turkish nationalist leader and founder and first president of the republic of Turkey), a figure well known in Macedonia due to the Ottoman presence for five centuries....and also in the left, you can see the women who fought bravely during the war (1919-1922).

He was born in 1881 in Salonika (now Thessaloniki) in what was then the Ottoman Empire. At 12 he was sent to military school and then to the military academy in Istanbul. In 1911, he served against the Italians in Libya and then in the Balkan Wars (1912 - 1913). He made his military reputation repelling the Allied invasion at the Dardanelles in 1915.

In May 1919, Atatürk began a nationalist revolution in Anatolia, organising resistance to the peace settlement imposed on Turkey by the victorious Allies. This was particularly focused on resisting Greek attempts to seize Smyrna and its hinterland. Victory over the Greeks enabled him to secure revision of the peace settlement in the Treaty of Lausanne.

In 1921, Atatürk established a provisional government in Ankara. The following year the Ottoman Sultanate was formally abolished and, in 1923, Turkey became a secular republic with Atatürk as its president. He established a single party regime that lasted almost without interruption until 1945.

He launched a programme of revolutionary social and political reform to modernise Turkey. These reforms included the emancipation of women, the abolition of all Islamic institutions and the introduction of Western legal codes, dress, calendar and alphabet, replacing the Arabic script with a Latin one. Abroad he pursued a policy of neutrality, establishing friendly relations with Turkey's neighbours.

In 1935, when surnames were introduced in Turkey, he was given the name Atatürk, meaning 'Father of the Turks'. He died on 10 November 1938.

Must admit, this was a great history revision for me....

the stamp is from a set of 4 issued in 2010, representing the 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championship for Men.

thank you so much again for such a great card Pinar!  

Cabo da Roca, Portugal

I decided to include two cards here since they both show the same lighthosue but from different perspectives...and either way, it would feel rather pointless to write again some time in the future about Cabo de Roca, when so many other Portuguese cards are begging to be posted :)

PT-158776

This one came as an official, and it says that this lighthouse is on the most westerly point of Europe! Aww, and you know I love it when a card shows such the most xxx point of the world.

This other card was in my favourites and Johanna was so kind and decided to surprise me by sending it to me for the Jan-May RR!
On this other card, the following details are given:
Latitude - 38° 46′ North/ Longitude - 9° 30′ West

Both cards arrived with lovely stamps! The first one has three stamps (yeah 3, I too late realized I hadnt scanned the third one on the left and then after everything was scanned and uploaded, I felt too lazy to do it all over again...but Ill tell you that the third stamp is from a set of 5 issued in 2003 featuring birds and this one in particular shows the Green Woodpecker.
As for the other two stamps you can  actually see, the lighthouse one is actually a stamp issued in Açores, in 2008, while the other one is also a stamp from 2008 from a set of 5, portraying Urban Transport in the Inter-War Years.
The stamp on the second card is an EUROPA one again coming from Açores, as a part of the m/s issued in 2010 representing children's books.  

Gibraltar

I know it's only Thursday, but somehow i feel in the shape to post some cards so why not use it wisely :)

Few days ago I got this amazing card from Gibraltar from dear Rafal! It may not be my first Gibraltar card but it surely is my first one with Gibraltar stamps :D
Ok, I admit I sort of hijacked a place in Rafal's RR but how can one possibly resist a card from Gibraltar...sorry Rafal :)
And what I love about this one is that it is totally different than the rest of my Gibraltar cards showing the famous rock, but here you have an aerial view which gives you a better idea of how Gibraltar actually looks like. Has some odd distribution of the habitats....for my perception. I wonder if people often get bored here...

here are the two stamps Rafal used....and at first glance they seem as if they are not cancelled, but if you take a better look at the left one, you will see some traces of the cancellation. That stamp was issued in 2009 in a set of 6 stamps commemoration 100 years of Naval aviation, while the other one is a definitive from a set of 13 issued in 2004.

Thank you so much again Rafal!

Boston, USA

A lovely Boston view I got in the "Choose a Country RR" - a RR I got addicted to immediately.

The card shows the Faneuil Hall Marketplace at dusk....and the colours are just soooooo lovely!

"When evening falls, the lights come on at New England's most visited marketplace where food, flowers, fashion and fun surround you: Historic Faneuil Hall, built in 1742, is in the foreground and the Custom House tower is in the background". - from the back of the card.

a stamp you know all about by now...

Tāngata Whenua, New Zealand

My last card for today is this very cool and great card from New Zealand.

The term "Tāngata Whenua" translates to "People of the land" and is used to describe the Māori inhabitants that settled in New Zealand many centuries ago, but generally reckoned to be 1200-1300 AD.
Tāngata means 'people' and Whenua means 'land'.

The notion of tāngata whenua is sometimes contrasted with that of tāngata tiriti - literally, "the people of the Treaty". Tāngata tiriti refers to non-indigenous New Zealanders, who are in the country by virtue of the Treaty of Waitangi

and three nice stamps....the first one is from an issue of 7 scenic definitives issued in 2007 and this one shows Central Otago. The middle stamp is a Christmas one from a set of 7, issued in 2010, while the third stamp comes from a FANTASTIC sheet called A Slice of Heaven, of a total of 25 stamps, representing tourism in NZ. If you are interested, you can see the whole sheet here.

Thanks for following and for still dropping by...hope you have a nice sunny Sunday...at least here we have some sun.. 

New York, USA

The last choice of a card for today is also a rather special one, coming from New York.

The card shows the United Nations Headquarters, which is a distinctive complex in NYC, located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan. It has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1952.
There are 3 other additional, subsidiary, regional headquarters in Geneva (Switzerland), Vienna (Austria), and Nairobi (Kenya). And Im happy to say that I also own one UN card from Vienna thanks to Earney!
These adjunct offices help represent UN interests, facilitate diplomatic activities, and enjoy certain extraterritorial privileges, but only the main headquarters in New York contains the seats of the principal organs of the UN, including the General Assembly and Security Council. All 15 of the United Nation's specialized agencies are located outside New York at these other headquarters or in other cities.
Though it is in New York City, and part of the United States, the land used by the United Nations Headquarters is considered international territory, while also being subject to most local, state, and federal laws. For award purposes Amateur radio operators consider it a separate "entity", and for communications the UN has its own internationally recognized ITU prefix, 4U.

And of course, it has its own stamps, as you can see below.

The stamp on the right is from a series of 4 definitives issued in 1976. The one in the middle is from a series of two W.I.P.O stamps issued in 1977, while the third one is an airmail definitive from a set of 4 issued in 1972.
And I love the 'United for Peace' cancellation.

Just a great card and great stamps, no? Thanks a lot to Oleg for it.

And thank you for dropping by...see you soon...I hope :)

Pointe Aux Barques Lighthouse, USA

A great card for my lighthouse collection I received in one of the RR's.

This is Pointe Aux Barques lighthouse, which is located along the Lake Huron shore at the tip of Michigan's "Thumb". The surrounding area Lighthouse Park is an excellent recreational facility and museum maintained by Huron County.

and some nice stamps....apart from the famous clock, there are two I can consider as new ones for my collection, both issued in 2010...in the middle is a stamp dedicated to Winslow Homer, who was known as an American landscape painter and printmaker, best known for his marine subjects. I guess this is one of his paintings. And the other stamp is one you definitely recognize...Mother Teresa...commemorating 100 years since her birth.

Thanks for the nice card and stamps Craig!

Tsubame, Japan

My last card for today comes from Japan, showing a high-speed train...which somehow reminds me of how quickly this year has passed =/ Each year time seems to fly faster and faster and faster.....

Please meet Tsubame....which is the name of the train services operating on the Kyūshū Shinkansen in Japan since 2004.
The word 'tsubame' in Japanese means "swallow", and has been used on a succession of limited express trains on the Tōkaidō and Sanyō Main Line in Japan since 1930.

I dont know what these swallow exactly...the space in front of them maybe?

These new modern trains definitely look elegant and compared to the old trains, are much more comfortable...however, i prefer the older ones...they just simply have the charm the new ones dont, and make this sound, that you cant hear with the new trains...even the sirens arent the same...ahh, me and my nostalgic moments...

some nice Japanese stamps which as usual give me a headache....the left one is from a set of 6 issued in 2006, under the name 'flowers from Kinky'...uhmm, ok, i wont get into meanings and ambiguities now...the other stamp is from a set of 3 definitives issued in 1997....I must say that Japan has just tooooo many stamps with flowers....makes me fee lost

well, anyways...Im pretty sure there wont be a chance I make another update in the next two days, so Id just like to wish everyone a happy new year, lots of health and lots and lots and lots of love...and the rest will come by itself...and of course, which i mustnt forget, many new great postcards in your mailboxes!!

Thank you for following me for another year to come and bearing with all my silences, rants, silly facts....thanks to all the newcomers for becoming a part of it....and hope to see you all, and many new ones in the year to come...coz after all, if it wasnt for you, this blog wouldnt have given me the pleasure it actually does!

a BIG BIG BIG HUG to you all!!!!! Enjoy the holidays!!!!

Meryemana, Turkey

A card from Turkey which shows something different from the usual cards I see from here...

It shows the Meryemana, or in English, The House of Virgin Mary....which is a Christian and Muslim shrine located on Mt. Koressos.
Some believe that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken to this stone house by Saint John and lived there until her Assumption (according to Catholic doctrine), or Dormition (according to Orthodox belief).

I guess another sort of appropriate card for today, coz it is related to Jesus...though honestly, it didnt even cross my mind about it corresponding anyhow with Christmas when choosing what to post today...im telling you, i have this odd random card-choosing that end up coinciding with something....

So next time you go to Turkey, I guess you should also put this on your to-visit list...I kind of like visiting those not so commercialized and advertised places, and this one, at least here, hasnt been talked about much...here you will mostly hear about those summer destinations, and Hagia Sophia, Pamukkkale....Ive rarely seen for example Cappadocia been advertised either...so thats why these places attract me and I want to see them....

the stamp is from a set of 16 issued this year, from the "Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture" issue, showing architecture in this ciry.

B&O Railroad Museum, USA

A fantastic card I got in a RR just recently..showing the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad museum, or B & O in short.

The story of the American railroad begins here, when Charles Carroll laid the first stone for the B & O Railroad on July 4th, 1828. In 1830, Peter Cooper's efforts produced America's first steam locomotive here. Inside the roundhouse is a famous collection of 50 antique locomotives, Imlay coaches and replicas. In the yard is an impressive display of larger, more recent equipment.

Well, the RR itself was Trains vs UNESCO, so I simply had to sign up...thanks to Jasmin who pointed out at me, otherwise I NEVER would have noticed it...but now im all vigilant when it comes to that RR, in order not to miss something great again.

And I totally love the stamps!! Apart from the 'star' one, which is rather familiar, at the top, first on the left you have a stamp issued in 1994 in a set of two crane stamps, while the other two come from 2000, from a set of 5 Hubble stamps, showing Hubble space images. Arent they all just lovely??

Well, it is a non-working day here...so i better use it wisely...though i have some pending work to do and deadlines to catch.

Railway Museum, Hong Kong

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!

New Zealand

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. 

Cavtat, Croatia

My last card for today shows Cavtat in Croatia.

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 :)

Urk, The Netherlands

This lovely card came from Peggy for the anniversary 100 group in the Turkish RR.

Urk Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Urk at the eastern banks of the IJsselmeer. From 1617 a coal fire was used for the local fishermen as well as for the ships sailing from Amsterdam to the North Sea. The current lighthouse station was established in 1837. The tower was built in 1845 as a round brick tower attached to a keeper's house. A Fresnel lens is still in use. The lighthouse was restored in 1972 and declared a national monument of the Netherlands in 1982. The tower can be visited during guided tours.

There are three nice and rather different stamps from the ones im used to seeing from the Netherlands. The one in the middle is from a set of four stamps issued back in 1984, representing Joost Swarte comics. The one on the left is also from 1984, issued under the subject of Export and Trade, and it represents small businesses. And the last one, phew, comes from a set of 3 Traffic stamps issued in 1980.
The lack of issuing dates on the stamps has made searching a real hell...but I finally managed :P

Triglav, Slovenia + Contest ;)

A fantastic card from Slovenia, showing the summit of the Triglav mountain, at 2864m...

And here you can also see the Aljaž Tower. This tower is a landmark of Slovenia and a symbol of Slovenehood and it also presents a storm shelter on Triglav.
When you tell me about Triglav, the first thing that ALWAYS comes to my mind is this song dating back from the times of Yugoslavia...and there was this line in it, "od Vardara pa do Triglava", or "from Vardar to Triglav", meaning the southern landmark and the northern landmark from former Yugoslavia...

So here comes the contest time....this is the song, where maybe you wont understand the lyrics but you can at least enjoy the pictures showing different sites from all parts of Yugoslavia


Now, your task is...how many of them can you identify? How many places from Macedonia can you recognize? :) The person with the most right guesses regarding the Macedonian sites, will get a written and stamped postcard from me....I know it may be a tough contest, but maybe you can dig among your cards or some found at other people's blogs to help you...so there you go....the contest will be open for a while....i cant make an exact promise, but I will give you enough time to do the searching and exploring ;)
In case of more people having the most correct answers, the winner will be the first one who had posted his or her answers.

Good Luck ;)

and two nice stamps here..the big one on the right is from this year, representing National costume from Prekmurje region, while the other one is from a set of 11 flower definitives, issued in 2009

Twyfelfontein, Namibia

A lovely, great, fantastic, awesome card came from Anja! Namibia...UNESCO...written and stamped! Pleasure all around! :)

At first the name reminded me of some of those Welsh places, but this one aint situated even close to Wales but in the far far Namibia. Twyfelfontein (doubtful fountain) is 75km west of Khorixas.
The site has been inhabited for 6,000 years, first by hunter-gatherers and later by Khoikhoi herders. Both ethnic groups used it as a place of worship and a site to conduct shamanist rituals. In the process of these rituals at least 2,500 items of rock carvings have been created, as well as a few rock paintings. Some thousands of years old, other of the 19th century. Displaying one of the largest concentrations of rock petroglyphs in Africa, UNESCO approved Twyfelfontein as Namibia's first World Heritage Site in 2007.

and a great stamp, coming from the 3rd joint SAPOA issue, which consists of 9 stamps, regarding the 2010 FIFA World Cup of South Africa.