Maastricht, The Netherlands

And after ticking another country off the list, back to something else now.

I haven't really considered visiting Maastricht.... but after having received this card, my plans kinda changed.
This is one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world (according to Alvin, and im pretty sure he is right).
Built in 1294, the cathedral features large open spaces boasting three-story bookshelves. Being that the church contains 1,200 square meters of shopping space with only 750 square meters of floor space, the architects decided to design vertically. They incorporate the modern scheme of the shop without obstructing the religious motifs or structure of the ancient venue. Within the space, there is also a cafe. As a nod to the bookstore’s past-life, there is a long table shaped like a cross in the eating area, which is conveniently located where the choir formerly situated themselves.

How can you not want to visit this place? So if you end up in Maastricht and wanna do something that is not really touristy, this is a great way to spend your time. If I end up in Maastricht, this would be my first destination, for sure!

Two nice stamps on the card. Christmas one on the left, from the set of 10 Christmas stamps issued last year. The other stamp is from 2018, showing the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision - Beeld en Geluid.

Podgorica, Montenegro

ok, one more card for today, sent by a long-absent postcrosser, but thanks to FB, I know he is doing just fine =)

The card shows the Church of St. George, which is the oldest Orthodox church in Podgorica, located at the foot of Gorica Hill, (that the town was named after). It was built between IX and XI century. During the turbulent history it had several repairs and rebuildings, so that its original look has not been fully preserved. The inside is decorated with frescoes that are the work of an anonymous artists.

Rajko used 3 nice stamps on this card...the two at the top were issued in 2010...the left one commemorates the 650th Anniversary of the Balsic Dinasty, while the other one is from a set of four Tourism stamps.
The bottom stamp was issued in 2011 in a set of two Art stamps (this one shows a painting by Vojo Stanić, a a Montenegrin painter and sculptor).

Hvala Riči na super razglednici i markice!!

So, that would be all for today folks! Till next time...

Radom, Poland

A card coming from the Polish town of Radom, showing the Garrison Church...

The church is located in the Constitution Square and was formerly an Orthodox church....there is just some information in Polish about this church, but not really in English...

from the set of 3 Christmas stamps issued in 2015

San Juan Bautista Church, Philippines

so after the blabber, here comes a normal post featuring a card from the Philippines

Received this card from Ronan through a swap, and here is what the back of the card says:

The construction of the church was started in 1864 and was completed in 1879. The stones on the church walls bear the noticeable marks of the masons who built the church. This church was named a national landmark on August 1 1993

the two stamps form a set issued in 2012, featuring the Diocese of Malolos ( Roman Rite diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. The motherchurch of the Diocese is the Malolos Cathedral located in Malolos City, Bulacan)

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!

Brest, Belarus

I really love these Russian, Belorussian, Ukrainian...churches....or in one word, all that used to belong to USSR..the architecture is just so nice!

This is the Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Brest, and it is considered to be the biggest church in Belarus. And unfortunately, I was surprised to see how little information one can find on the internet regarding this place.
All I got to find out is that this place commemorates the victims of WWII..and im not even 100% sure that is correct.

All the stamps come from 2008. The left one is from a set of 5 stamps of wild animals, with this one portraying a raccoon, while the other two are from a set of 8 representing Garden Flowers.

Kyiv, Ukraine

After two clumsy confusions and by mistake putting cards from Russia and Belarus, third luck charm and I get the intended Ukrainian postcard here....

As the back of the card says, here you can see the Nunnery of St. Mary the Protectress and the Monasterial Hospital. I am really not sure about the word 'hospital here, coz it doesnt occur in the German explanation on the card nor in the Russian and Ukrainian ones....in all the other explanations i see the word 'church' not 'hospital'...I am starting to wonder when did the explanations on the cards become so confusing and not so reliable...grrr....this is getting frustrating :@

the flower stamp is a definitive from a set of 18 issued in 2006

Thessaloniki, Greece

Finally a Thessaloniki card which shows something else but that famous Thessaloniki tower...i have nothing against it...im just tired of seeing it on every possible and impossible postcard.
This is the St. Demetrius church...a view by night...which is obvious...

Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki was a Christian martyr who is said to have lived in Thessaloniki in the early 4th century. During the Middle Ages, he came to be revered as one of the most important Orthodox military saints often paired with Saint George. His feast day is October 26 for Christians following the Gregorian calendar and November 8, for Christians following the Julian calendar...
The Serbian Orthodox church reveres St. Demetrius as Mitar, having a feast of Mitrovdan on 8 November....well, here we also have Mitrovden...and is celebrated mainly as a nameday or saints day, which is some sort of a family celebration...so people whose name is Dimitar, Mitar, Mitra or anything related to Mitar, do have their celebrations on this day....
My grandparents commemorate December 19, St. Nicholas Day, coz my great-grand father was called Nikola...well, i just want to make it more clear, what kind of celebrations are these...
There is a funny story related to this and two other Thessaloniki cards, but i guess ill share it when i show the other ones, and instead talk of the tower, ill go with the story...unless i forget...which wouldnt surprise me...i have become very forgetful in the past years....