January 24, 2014

Germany - Rhine


This postcard was sent by Hanna! It's a map about the famous river Rhine (or Rhein, in german), with 1233 km lenght, one of main rivers in Europe, important for commerce and transportation, and the main cities on its riverbank. It flows into North Sea, in the city of Rotterdam, which is located the largest European seaport. The vines occupying the slopes, peaceful villages and the forty castles are the summary of the romantic Rhine landscape. In 2002, the region between Bingen/Rüdescheim and Bonn was declared a Unesco World Heritage.

Belarus - The Catholic Church of Simon and Alena


I've received this one from Veronika! The postcard shows the Catholic Church of Simon and Alena, a neo-romanesque church, also known as Red Church, located in the Independence Square, at the city of Minsk (Belarus's capital) and built in the beggining of XX century. Simon and Alena are the names of man's children who financed the building; Alena was a very ill girl. Before death, the angel in her dream showed this church; the girl drew it and, in memory of daughter, the father ordered to build the church according her drawing.

Thailand - Pileh Bay Phi Phi


Tokyo Ska sent to me this postcard! It shows the Pileh Bay Phi Phi, located in Krabi province, south Thailand. This is an amazing place, I've read that many considere it one of most beautiful beaches, or even the most beautiful place, of Thailand. It's a paradise beach in the turquoise waters surrounded by high boulders.

USA - Golden Gate Bridge


This postcard was sent Helmuts! It shows one of most famous bridges in the world, the Golde Gate Bridge, located in California (west USA), connects San Francisco to Sausalito and it has 2737 m. Constructed between 1933 and 1937 during the depths of the Great Depression across a strait many considered impossible to span, the Golden Gate Bridge is an icon of design and engineering, an internationally known symbol of American ingenuity and the centerpiece of the Golden Gate National Parks.

Russia


I've received this one from Kristina! She lives in Saratov, a city on the riverbank Volga. Well, I think this is almost a pin-up, a discrete one.

USA - McMenamins


This postcard was sent by Libby! It's shown the sun and the moon, symbols throughout McMenamins, a chain of brewery, located mostly in the Portland metropolitan area. You can see more about it on its site: http://www.mcmenamins.com. She's also sent to me the top of a VooDoo donut box and a button of the same store; this shop makes weird donuts, like a donut with bacon or cereal on it.

January 23, 2014

United Arab Emirates - Dubai


I've received these ones from Weny! The first postcard shows some famous landmarks from Dubai (a city in the emirate of the same name - one of seven emirates that make up the country - and it's located on southeast coast of the Persian Gulf); from left to the right: Emirates Tower, Burj Khalifa, Address Hotel and Burj Al Arab, these skyscrapers are symbol from the city. The another is about the famous, probably the most famous building in Dubai, Burj Al Arab, with 321 m tall, it's a luxury hotel which stands on an artificial island 280 m from Jumeirah beach and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge.

Italy - Milan


This postcard was sent by Nico! It's about Milan (or Milano, in italian), the second most populous city (1,3 million) in Italy and an amazing city; famous in all world as the fashion's capital. Milan is the main industrial, commercial and financial centre of its country. The city has several important tourist spots (museums, theatres and landmarks), that's why attracts many tourists every year.

January 22, 2014

Van Gogh's paintings



These wonderful postcards (at least to me, since I love Van Gogh) were sent by Jovi, from Hong Kong! The first one shows a famous painting of this great artist, the "Wheatfield with Crows", painted in July 1890, one of last paintings of Vicent Van Gogh; many people believe that it's the last painting from him, but there's not evidences which comprove this idea. "The Langlois Bridge at Arles with Women Washing" is shown on the second postcard, painted in 1888, it's one of most best loved paintings, acknowledged as the first masterpiece of his Arles period.

Greece - Santorini


I've received this postcard from the lovely Nikitia! It shows a typical view of the houses in Greece, in this case, in Santorini, an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km southeast of Greece's mainland. Santorini is essentially what remains after an enormous volcanic explosion that destroyed the earliest human settlements on old island and created the current geological caldera.

Italy - Vespa


This one was sent by Sandra! The postcard shows the VP 115, a model of the famous Vespa (a scooter category initially manufactured in Pontedera, in 1946, by Piaggio & Co., SpA), a italian motorbike mark worldwide known. On the link you can see a cool video from evolution of Vespa: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZZ-7UUqQsA.

Greece - Zakynthos and Peloponnese


I've received these postcards from Dimitra! She lives in Patra. The first one shows the Zakynthos (or Zante, as it's known in italian) the third largest island of the Ionian Sea, a important Greece's tourist spot. The other postcard is about Peloponnese, showing a nice map and famous places, a large peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece.

Belarus - Native paintings



These beautiful postcards were sent by Dasha! They show Belarussian artists's paintings; the first one is the "Night on Christmas Eve. (Interior with Christmas Tree)", by Stanislav Zhukovsky (1875-1944, a impressionist painter), painted in 1904. The second postcard shows the "Blue Chapel", painted in 1912, by Vitold Byalynitsky-Birulya (1872-1957, a soviet landscape painter). The both paintings are oil on canvas and they're located on the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus. She also sent me a candy wrapper from her favorite candy, called "Stolichnye-Elite".

Estonia


This cool postcard was sent by Tiina! It's about the famous game Angry Birds, in a Christmas style.

Ukraine - Fauna's stamps


I've received this postcard from Julia! On it you can see nice ukrainian postage stamps, about fauna. She also send me a sticker of Roshen, according her, a popular sweets factory from Ukraine.

March Sun - Konstantin Yuon


This postcard was sent from Russia! It shows the March Sun, painted by the soviet artist Konstantin Yuon, in 1915, which depicts the awakening of russian winter.

Spain - Santa Maria de Taüll


I've received this one from Montserrat! The postcard shows a painting of the apse (or absis, in latin, a semi-circular or polygonal termination of the church at the liturgical east end, where the altar is) of the romanesque church Santa Maria de Taull, in Lleida's pyrenees, whose set of frescos are conserved at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, in Barcelona.

January 21, 2014

India - Taj Mahal


This postcard was sent by Amit! It shows the most famous and known monument of India, the Taj Mahal, a Unesco World Heritage, recently included in the Seven Wonders of Modern World, built between 1632 and 1653 by about 20 thousand men. Taj Mahal is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra (north India) and it was built by the emperor Shah Jahan in memory to his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

Morocco - Vallée du Drâa


I've received this postcard from Ouissal! It shows villages and gardens from Vallée du Drâa (Drâa Valley, in english); the Drâa River it's the longest river of Marocco, with 1100 km lenght. The Drâa Valley is notable for its ksour (plutal of ksar, they're fortified cities) and kasbah (citadels, which were originally military fortifications).

USA - Tennessee Aquarium


This one was sent by Qiuyi! She was born in China, but now lives in Chattanooga, the fourth lasgest city in Tennessee. The postcard shows the Penguins Rock at the Tennessee Aquarium, specifically the gentoo penguins. You can know cool stuffs about this place and these animals on the site of the Aquarium; here is the link: http://www.tnaqua.org/OurAnimals/PenguinsRockCam.aspx.

Japan - Ruri Temple


This postcard was sent by Mami! You can see the Ruri Temple; I know almost nothing about it, all I know it's that the Ruri Temple is a budist temple and it's located in Sayō.

Czech Republic - Olomouc



These postcards were sent by Jitka! The first one shows Olomouc, her hometown, which is located in the east of Czech Republic; you can see on the postcard the Olomouc town hall and the Holy Trinity Column, a baroque monument built in 1716 - 1754 in honour of God. In 2000, this column was placed on UNESCO list of World Heritage, thanks its 35 m high, as "one of the most exceptional examples of the apogee of central European Baroque artistic expression". The second postcard allows you can see the Old Town Square, from Prague (capital of her country); it's shown the astronomical clock, installed in 1410 (the 3rd oldest astronomical clock and th oldest one still working) and the gothic Týn Church (the main church of this part of this city.

Germany - Munich


I've received this one from Vanessa! On the postcard you can see the Marienplatz (Mary's Square, in english), located in the Munich's center and founded in 1158; at the northern part of the square it stays the Neuem Rathaus (the New Town Hall, in english), built between 1867 and 1908 in neo-gothic style. And on the left, it's shown the Frauenkirche, the Cathedral of Our Dear Lady's usual name, the biggest church of the city.

January 19, 2014

The Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night - Van Gogh


I've received this postcard, from Netherlands, of a famous Van Gogh's painting from Caroline! She told me about herself, what she like to do, it was cool! This painting, also know simply as Cafe Terrace at Night, was completed in September 1888, seven months after the arrived of the painter to the Arles, a city at the southern France.

Finland - Angry Birds Space


I've received this postcard from Kirsti! It shows the famous finnish game Angry Birds, in a special version called Angry Birds Space, which was made in partnership with NASA, to be more precise in relation to sidereal space.

Ukraine - Venus 9


This one was sent by Svetlana! It shows the Venera-9 (in russian Венера-9, meaning Venus 9), which was a USSR unmanned space mission to Venus. It consisted of an orbiter and a lander; the orbiter was the first spacecraft to orbit Venus, while the lander was the first to return images fom the surface of another planet. The mission lasted 200 days.

Belarus - Ophiogomphus cecilia


This maxi-card was sent by Anna! It shows the Ophiogomphus cecilia, a species of dragonfly.

Taiwan - Nanfang'ao


This postcard was sent by Clera Chen! It shows the Nanfang'ao, a major base for coastal fishing; the abundance of the fish catch here has made Nanfang'ao one of the three largest fishing towns on the island. I've read that interesting excursions are: visiting museums, bathing in cold springs, enjoying delicious seafood and tour of historical sites.

China - Tang Dynasty


This one was sent by Liyuan! Her hometown is Qingdao, a beautiful seaside city. The postcard shows a painted clay sculpture from the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD), an imperial dynasty of China, whose capital was Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), which at the time was the most populous city in the world, it's generally regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization, a golden age of cosmopolitan culture; this dynasty was largely a period of progress and stability.

Hungary - BKV


I've received this postcard from Szabina (from Starring You, an amzing page of Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Starring-you/444654255588784). It shows a suburban railtype of MIXa No. 831 of BKV (in english, Budapest Transport Company) at the station National Theatre on May 9th 2012.

Philippines - Boracay


I've received this one from Roel! It shows Boracay, a small island in the Philippines, 315 km south of Manila; its beach is amazing, a wonderful place, the number 1 beach destination in the Asia and it has already been considered, in 2012, the best island in the world. According him, what he most like about Boracay shores are its white sand as soft as talcum powder and cool to the feet when under the scorching heat of the sun.

Czech Republic - Prague


I've received this postcard from Veronika! It shows Praha (in czech, where she was born), capital of Czech Republic, specifically showing the St. Nicholas Church (a baroque church in Lesser Town, a district of Prague, one of its most historic regions) and the Vltava River (the longest river in the country, with 435 km long).

Malaysia - Petronas Towers


This postcard was sent by Sufi! It shows the Petronas Twin Towers (in malay Menara Petronas), a twin skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital, which were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004, but they remain as the tallest twin buildings; the towers have 452m, with 88 floors and, today, they're the sixth building tallest in the world. The towers feature a skybridge between the two towers on 41st and 42nd floors.

Philippines - Vigan


This postcard was sent by Marlon! This is another postcard of Vigan, showing some typical houses, an UNESCO World Heritage. The Vigan heritage houses are the best preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial town in Asia, it was popularly known in the past as "Kasangalayan" (where the chinese live), contains the largest concentration of ancentral homes and other colonial-era architecture; although considered as spanish, the architecture is actually a combination of mexican and chinese styles, with filipino flourishes such as sliding capiz shell windows.

Hong Kong - Nathan Road


This postcard was sent by Ching Man! It shows a creation made up of many of the best neon signs on both sides of the harbour; many of the signs represent some of Hong Kong's best restaurants and night spots; the street is real and is Nathan Road in Kowloon (an urban area in Hong Kong), also known as "the Golden Mile", it's lined with shops, restaurants and throngs with tourists. The total length of Nathan Road is about 3,6 km.

USA - Happy Potter stamps


Well, this is a blog about postcard, but I'll open a exception, since I like very much Harry Potter! It was Arnold, from USA, who send these special stamps from his country to me. I think I don't have to say anything else, because the stamps and the text say everything!









USA - Oregon



These postcards of Oregon were sent by Jessica! The first shows a beautiful view of Wallowa Lake (at an elevation of 1333 m) and the second shows a view of Mt. Hood (located about 80 km east of Portland and with about 3420 m tall), people enjoy to going there, she told me, to ski and snowboard during the winter season, and (it should be awesome!) she can see the mountain from her home, although it's very far from where she lives.

Bulgaria


These postcards were sent by Zhenya! She told me about what she likes, it was nice! The first one shows Kaliakra, a nature reserve, of the northern bulgarian Black Sea coast, where dolphins and cormorants can be observed, one of her favorite places for jumping and swimming; she told me a legend about this place: according to it, 40 bulgarian girls tied their hair together and jumped into the Black Sea in order to escape the prospect of being captured by the Ottomaus. The another postcard shows the most famous places in Bulgaria, her favorite one is Melnik, very famous for its wine production.