Edinburgh, Scotland

And one more Sissel card for today, this time from Scotalnd's capital.

As neatly explained on the back of the card "Evening light on the Old Town and Edinburgh Castle, views from Calton Hill".
I have written about the Castle before, so won't be repeating myself here. Though I think that so far I have it from all the possible angles and all views are just stunning!

a cute Christmas stamp issued in 2016 in a set of 8.

Soo, that would be all for today, It is about time I get down to some ACTUAL work.

Millions of hugs to Sissel for these cards and the bunch of others still not featured.

And see you soon with maybe another fairy-related post. Let's see who the random generator chooses next time ;-)

stay well!

Kilchurn Castle, Scotland

A beautiful card from the beautiful Scotland that dear Anu sent me few years ago.

I really really wish to visit Scotland one day...doesn't matter if it is castles, or cities or nature or just anything....but this whole visa regime makes it so complicated =/

Ah well, till then I will have to enjoy Scotland through postcards only...and well at least thanks to them, I have a BUNCH of places in Scotland that I'd just love to visit...and this castle is one of them (the website says that for now it is closed until further notice anyways)... but just look at that surrounding nature....and the isolation...and the stillness....so enchanting!

The Kilchurn Castle was built in the mid-1400s by Sir Colin Campbell, 1st Lord of Glenorchy.
The castle comprised a five-storey tower-house at one corner of an irregular-shaped courtyard.
The tower house still stands substantially complete, overshadowing the rest of the complex. On the ground level of the tower were a cellar and prison. There was a hall on the first floor and private chambers above.
Colin’s descendants, the Campbells of Glenorchy (later earls of Breadalbane), were the most powerful of the numerous cadets of Clan Campbell. Indeed, there were times when this branch almost rivalled the clan chiefs, the earls of Argyll, for supremacy.
 Kilchurn remained their powerbase for 150 years. It was not abandoned until the 1700s.

Any used a bunch of great stamps....two are the Queen definitives (not sure which year, my guess would be they were issued in 2011, but I may not be 100% correct on this one). As for the rest, lets see...both of the 10p stamps are Christmas stamps - the upper one was issued in 1979, while the bottom one in 1980. The remaining stamp is from the four Olympic Stamps issued in 2012.

Anu, thank you dear as always!!

Edinburgh, Scotland

Well, if we had Wales, while not have Scotland as well while we are at it..Ive never posted an Edinburgh card before, so lets share some beauties here :)

dear Anu sent me this one for the favourites tag. lovely lovely lovely winter snowy view of the Edinburgh castle, known also as the Iconic Scottish Tourist Attraction.
Edinburgh Castle is located at the top of the Royal Mile, at the west end of Edinburgh's Old Town. The volcanic Castle Rock offers a naturally defended position, with sheer cliffs to north and south, and a steep ascent from the west. The only easy approach is from the town to the east, and the castle's defenses are situated accordingly, with a series of gates protecting the route to the summit of the Castle Rock.

Anu used lovely stamps on this one! And rather old ones! From left to right...first we have a great EUROPA stamp from 1992 from a set of two stamps on the theme Discovery of America. Next to it is one of the five Cinema stamps issued in 1996, commemorating the 100 years of going to the Pictures (yeah, actually the British people go the Pictures, the Americans to the Movies...) I must admit I find "Going to the Pictures" really old-fashioned, and just now I started thinking if it is still used nowadays or not...
At the very right we have a stamp issued in 1992, from a set of 4 Lord Tennyson stamps...(Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular British poets)
And of course, a purpley Queen stamp =)

and for a comparison, here I also have the Edinburgh Castle in spring or summer...not quite sure...but it is nice to see it both covered with snow and without it.
And the back of the card says "Edinburgh Castle, dating from the 12th century, sits high on a crag of ancient volcanic rock. Seen here across Princes Street Gardens at dawn....ok, at least we know it's dawn, the season is irrelevant :))

the stamp is from a set of 8 Country Definitives (or Regionals' stamps), issued in 2011, with this one here representing...well, of course, Scotland!!

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

The visit to Salzburg was our stop to the main destination, and that was Munich...and while in Munich, you have to visit the Bavarian castles as well, including the most famous one, and that is Neuschwanstein.

the whole place is really dreamy...and probably has the least kitchy interior of all the three castles we entered (the other two being Herrenchiemsee and Linderhof)
They are just extraordinary with beautiful gardens and surroundings, but I guess Disney had its reason when he picked Neuschwanstein as his inspiration
I won't go into details about the castle, I've already posted about it once...however, the day we visited the castles was one of the most amazing, and most tiring in my life...having driven through the breathtaking nature of Austria (yeah, that's the road we took in order to get from Neuschwanstein to Linderhof) and having seen the castles...and what I couldn't do in Switzeland, I did it here...when you gather the amounts of chocolate and stuff I bought from both Austria and Germany, I went back home with like 5 or so kilos of chocolate...thank God they didn't check my bags at the border...I would have had lot of explaining to do :P

I still don't know why I mailed myself a Neuschwanstain card when I already have a few...but at least this is my first one covered in snow :D

sending the cards was a bit confusing with those German mailboxes, but thank God I nailed it right...the stamp is just a regular flower one, a definitive issued in 2011.

 i received this other Neuschwanstain card from dear Tanja as a RAS, back in 2009...do you see those amazing woods and mountains in the back?!!

btw, in case you go here, you will get the most amazing view from Marienbrücke. It is not so far from the castle, maybe just a bit steep and tiring to get there, but trust me, it will be worth every single calorie you spend on your way there!

here we have another flower defintiive, this one issued in 2008. The other stamp is from 2009, showing the Leipzig University.

so that would be all for today...hope to see you soon with another nice and cool update...till then, stay well :)

Moszna, Poland

last card for today comes from Poland, showing the beautiful Moszna castle.

I dont know if some photoshop has interfered here but however, the card is just lovely, and i absolutely love the colours!
Moszna is a small village in south-west Poland. The castle was built in the 17th century and it's reminiscent of the English castles from the Elizabethan period. The castle has as many chambers as there are days in the calendar.
The castle has a chapel which is also used as a concert hall. Since 1998 the building houses a gallery, in which works of various artists are presented at regular exhibitions.
It is one of the best known monuments in the western part of Upper Silesia.

Another one, fairy-tale like card :)

the stamp is from the 2011 EUROPA series, representing forests .

thanks for reading and dropping by...and...see you again, sooner or later

Ludwigsburg, Germany

Next is a German castle..like from a fairy tale, where princes and princesses live and spend all day long playing in the garden :)

The Ludwigsburg ensemble consisting of the residential palace, palace gardens and the pleasure palaces Favorite and Monrepos is one of the most outstanding artistic achievements of the 18th century and one of Europe's most impressive and extensive Baroque complexes which served as a residence for the Dukes and Kings of Württemberg.
The foundation stone was laid on May 17, 1704 under the Duke Eberhard Ludwig of Württemberg (reigning monarch from 1693 to 1733), hence the name Ludwigsburg (or Ludwig's castle)

aaand...again, common stamps with not such a common one :)
the uncommon one was issued this year and comes from a set of 2 landscape stamps.

Orlík nad Vltavou, Czech Republic

a card I received back in 2008...huh, what a long time ago..

the card shows the Orlík Castle, near the Orlík nad Vltavou village (meaning, Orlík upon the river Vltava). The castle is surrounded by a huge castle park and a game preserve. It belongs to the house of Schwarzenberg, but normally during the summer it is open to public.

looks like a really lovely scene, and probably one of the most perfect views to greet you in the morning when you open your eyes and look out the window...

Burg Rabenstein, Austria

This last card again comes as an official I received in 2010 (as if it was so long ago...)

AT-65073

This is the Burg Rabenstein castle, which is said not to be well-known in the world and even within Austria itself. I guess thats why maybe there are not many information on the internet, at least not in English. But I came across some person's own experience of this place, so im conveying you his thoughts here...
"...Rabenstein is designated as an international cultural property by the Geneva Convention, and it is consequently protected from harm or use by military forces during times of war. In the 18th-19th century it was privately owned and used as a hotel, but today the small castle is owned by the Austrian Government in a specific capacity unknown. Apparently an official from the nearest town of Frohnleiten (a scant 3 kilometers away) presides over the castle and maintains its appearance. In summer the castle's courtyard is used by a local theatre group to present original dramas by Austrian playwrights.

Rabenstein is in immaculate condition, with magnificent lush flower-gardens and a fishpond in its courtyard, a freshly painted edifice, and a thick old-wood forest surrounding it on the steep hillside. And the Roman ruins, though crumbling and decrepit, still surround the rocky perch and stand majestically over the narrow valley...."

the above paragraph is courtesy of Jason Charles Buss, who I guess had quite a nice experience when visiting this castle.

and a nice birdy stamp (my cats would go frantic with so many birds, even if only on stamps :))
This one shows a Common Kingfisher and was issued in 2008 in a set of two stamps.

Trakai, Lithuania

For a long while i was simply craving to get a card showing the Trakai Castle....and then Inga came into my life, and sent me a bunch of fantastic Lithuanian cards, among which Trakai as well!

This is the Trakai Island Castle, with Trakai Town emerging in the distance.

This Gothic style castle was constructed by the Lithuanian Grand Dukes - Kęstutis and Vytautas at the end of XIV century and the first decade of 15th century.

Well, I just love this view of the castle, located among so much water...makes it just look so special and lovely!

Thank you so much Inga!!!

Malbork, Poland

This is a new UNESCO whs for my collection thanks to dear Rafal :) The "guilty" one for the continuing Slavic RR addiction :)

The Castle in Malbork was built in Prussia by the Teutonic Order, a German RomanCatholic religious order, as an Ordensburg. The Order named it Marienburg, literally "Mary's Castle". The town which grew around it was also named Marienburg, and since 1945 it is known as Malbork. The castle is a classic example of a medieval fortress, and is the world’s largest brick gothic castle. UNESCO listed the castle and its museum asWorld Heritage Sites in December 1997.  It is one of two World Heritage Sites in the region with origins in the Teutonic Order. The other is the Medieval Town of Toruń, founded in 1231 as the site of the castle Thorn.

the stamp is also a nice one (well its blue :)), issued in 2007 for the 750th Anniversary of the Foundation of Cracow and shows the Coat of Arms.

Thanks a lot Rafal :)

Fort la Latte, France

My last great card for today again comes as a surprise, this time from the postcrossing meeting that took place in Paris not so long ago, and Valerie was kind enough to remember me and send me a card...signed by 10 other members as well...LOVELY!

the Forte-la-Latte or the Castle of la Latte is a famous tourist attraction on the Cote d'Émeraude in the northeast of Brittany. This impressive castle was built on a small piece of land at the Baie de la Fresnaye in the 13th century. Various films have been shot at this site, including "The Vikings" with Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis (from 1958).
In the past it was called Roche-Gayon, and belonged to the lords of Matignon.
The castle has also been classified as monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1925.

I think that the view is just amazing and breathtaking!

the stamp on the right is very very cool! It is a self-adhesive one, coming from a series of 14 stamps called Smiles - Little Nicholas, issued this year. The other stamp is from 2008, again from a set of 14 (what a coincidence!), called Marianne and Europe, under the National Symbols theme.

well, hope you liked it all :)

Nagoya, Japan

And another beautiful site for today!

the Japanese architecture never leaves me indifferent!
this is the famous Nagoya castle - originally erected in 1523 and it is showing the power and glory of Tokugawa regime and was rebuilt in 1959. The donjon is famous for a pair of dolphins on the top of its roof.......oh look, there really are two dolphins there!

mmm, i also really like the combination of colours here....makes some tranquil scene...

 

cute stamp as well...i suppose it belongs to one of those Animation Hero and Heroine Series...or i might be wrong...i wish the official site of the Japanese Post office related to stamps was available in English as well....would have been really helpful

Óbidos, Portugal

8 really lovely castle surrounded in a beautiful atmosphere...well, the fact that the atmosphere is so appropriate makes it beautiful...

One thing i wonder about Portugal is WHY oh WHY my mail sent to there takes at LEAST one month to arrive...my last thing sent there still hasnt arrived and i mailed it the 10th of November..I mean, its withing Europe! My cards outside Europe arrive much faster...there's really something wrong with the Macedonian-Portuguese postal relation (its not the other way around, coz the cards sent to me from there take the normal time to arrive...no such nonsense delays) I really dont know where does that mail oversleep for so long....but it certainly makes it really unreliable  :(

Anyway, on the card you can see Óbidos, or more precisely, A Partial easterly view of the village at dawn (as the back of the card says)

The town of Óbidos is located on a hill and is still encircled by a fortified wall. The well-preserved mediaeval look of its streets, squares, walls and its massive castle have turned the picturesque village into a preferred tourist attraction in Portugal.
The name "Óbidos" probably derives from the Latin term 'oppidum' meaning "citadel", or "fortified city".

Slovakia

Here is a multiview from Slovakia, showing numerous different castles...

I only have had 2 Slovakian cards before receiving this one...now i have 9 :) (this one came along with 6 other beautiful Slovakian cards...you'll get to see them one at a time..)

More than 300 castles – many only evocative ruins dot the landscape throughout Slovakia. These fortified places that often sheltered entire towns from rapacious invaders are poignant reminders of the perils of times past.
It’s not surprising, then, that there are so many castles in Slovakia, which stands at the crossroads of cultures, religions and conquerors
There are two words for castle in Slovak: "hrad", which connotes defensive, fortified structures, and "zamok’, signifying palaces, chateaux or manor houses, built in more peaceful times by nobles and royals as luxurious homes or hunting lodges in place of the cold, drafty castles of yore
This is interesting, coz the Macedonian word for 'a castle' is also 'zamok'...its always fun to see how words in one language have the same meaning in another one...well, having in mind these are both Slavic languages, it aint a surprise..but still :)