Slovenia - Ljubljana (4)

A scenic view of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovania. It is situated on a natural crossroad from Central Europe to the Mediterranean and the Balkan Peninsula. The city is known for its green areas, the Ljubljana River, and its historic castle perched atop a hill.

Sent by Nuša from Grosuplje, Slovenia.

My other Ljubljana postcards are here, here, and here.

Slovenia - Piran (3)

An aerial view of the coastal town of Piran, Slovenia. Piran is a picturesque town located on the Adriatic Sea coast. It is known for its Venetian-style architecture, rich history, and narrow street. The town flourished through salt trade and is a popular tourist destination.

Sent by Neset who lives near Piran, Slovenia.

My other postcards of Piran are here and here.

Cross Country Class 221 Voyager Train

Cross Country Class 221 Voyager Train.

Sent by Liesbeth from Groningen Netherlands.

The British Rail Class 221 Super Voyager is a class of tilting diesel-electric multiple unit express passenger trains built in Bruges, Belgium and Wakefield, by Bombardier Transportation in 2001–02.

The class is similar to the Class 220 Voyager, but was built with a tilting mechanism enabling up to six degrees of tilt to allow higher speeds on curved tracks. Additionally, most have five coaches, and they have a different bogie design. They have a maximum speed of 125 mph (200 km/h).

The trains are divided between two operators, CrossCountry (25 sets) and Grand Central (two sets). CrossCountry sets had their tilt function disabled in 2008 to improve reliability and reduce maintenance costs, and Grand Central sets do not use theirs, although they remain in place. There are also a number of additional sets in storage, having been stood down from Avanti West Coast in December 2024 (read more).

South Africa - Robben Island (3)

ROBBEN ISLAND - CAPE TOWN - SOUTH AFRICA

Robben Island lies 9.678 km from Table Bay Harbour and 7.03 km from Bloubergstrand. This island has attracted enormous interest especially since the release of its famous inmate, Nelson Mandela in 1990. Today the Prison is a National Monument and a World Heritage Site housing a museum showcasing material that recorded the lives and times of those who fought against apartheid.

This is one of the three postcards sent to my daughter, by The Branch Manager of The Post Office at Robben Island Museum in 2014. It reached our address during our busy days of moving house. The other two are here and here.

Robben Island was used at various times between the 17th century and the 20th century as a prison, a hospital for socially unacceptable groups, and a military base. Its buildings, and in particular those of the late 20th century maximum security prison for political prisoners, testify to the way in which democracy and freedom triumphed over oppression and racism.

What survives from its episodic history are 17th century quarries, the tomb of Hadije Kramat who died in 1755, 19th century ‘village’ administrative buildings including a chapel and parsonage, small lighthouse, the lepers’ church, the only remains of a leper colony, derelict World War II military structures around the harbour and the stark and functional maximum security prison of the Apartheid period began in the 1960s.

The symbolic value of Robben Island lies in its somber history, as a prison and a hospital for unfortunates who were sequestered as being socially undesirable. This came to an end in the 1990s when the inhuman Apartheid regime was rejected by the South African people and the political prisoners who had been incarcerated on the Island received their freedom after many years (read more).

South Africa - Robben Island (2)

ROBBEN ISLAND - SOUTH AFRICA

Robben Island lies 9.678 km from Table Bay Harbour and 7.03 km from Bloubergstrand. It was here that Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 years with many of his comrades. Today the island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This is one of the three postcards sent to my daughter, by The Branch Manager of The Post Office at Robben Island Museum in 2014. It reached our address during our busy days of moving house.

South Africa - Robben Island (1)

ROBBEN ISLAND - CAPE TOWN - SOUTH AFRICA

Prison in sight of paradise. From here Nelson Mandela and his fellow prisoners once looked out on the city from where they would one day rule South Africa.

This is one of the three postcards sent to my daughter, by The Branch Manager of The Post Office at Robben Island Museum in 2014. It reached our address during our busy days of moving house.

Brazil - Minas Gerais - Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Congonhas

Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Congonhas, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The top image shows the exterior of a small chapel, identified as the "Passo da Crucificação (Step of the Crucifixion). The bottom image depicts a dramatic religious sculpture scene inside the chapel likely part of the "Steps of the Passion" series created by the celebrated sculptor Aleijadinho and his workshop in the late 18th century.

Sent by Denise from Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Standing high on a platform reached by a slightly  curved, divided staircase carrying on its parapets statues of the twelve prophets in soapstone (pedra sabão), the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Congonhas is approached via a ramped forecourt between six chapels marking Stations of the Cross (the Passos). Dating from the second half of the 18th century, the church with its magnificent Italian rococo interior is a masterpiece of the Baroque style reflecting in its architecture and ornamentation the transition period in which it was built. The soapstone statues together with the polychrome wooden sculptures depicting scenes of Christ’s Passion housed in the chapels stand as a crowning achievement of the creative genius of Francisco Antônio Lisboa, Aleijadinho, who bequeathed to humanity a truly impressive body of work (read more). 

Brazil - Minas Gerais - Cine-Theatro Central

Cine-Theatro Central in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The theater is now managed by the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF) and has been restored to maintain its historic appearance.

Sent by Denise from Minais Gerais, Brazil.

The large audience capacity and the stage designed to host a wide variety of performances make the Central a privileged space and one of the few of its kind currently available in the country. Theater, dance, opera, concerts, shows. The history of the Cine-Theatro Central is a parade of great names in national and international arts, responsible for moments of beauty and emotion, which have been presented over the last few decades in Juiz de Fora (read more).

Brazil - Minas Gerais - Grande Hotel e Thermas in Araxá

Araxá, Minas Gerais, Brazil 

Grande Hotel e Thermas

Sent by Denise from Minas Gerais, Brazil.

In its 80 years, the Grande Hotel Termas de Araxá is a perfect expression of neoclassical style with the irreverence of Brazilian art. Built over radioactive and sulphurous thermal springs, it is a refuge that renews itself every year. Offering guests unique experiences that celebrate Minas Gerais cuisine with affection, share stories, and preserve unforgettable beauty.

Inaugurated in 1944, the Grande Hotel Termas de Araxá was founded with the mission of transforming Araxá into one of the main tourist and therapeutic destinations in the country (read more).

Classic Rock Bands - #3 The Rolling Stones

Classic lineup of The Rolling Stones which includes Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts.

Sent by Viktoryia from Seattle in Washington, USA. Thanks to Viktoryia for following my blog. Thanks for the postcard.

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pioneered the gritty, rhythmically driven sound that came to define hard rock. Their first stable line-up consisted of vocalist Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards, multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones, bassist Bill Wyman, and drummer Charlie Watts, after pianist Ian Stewart was side-lined by their manager Andrew Loog Oldham. During their early years, Jones was the primary leader. Oldham encouraged them to write their own songs. The Jagger–Richards partnership soon became the band's primary songwriting and creative force.

Rooted in blues and early rock and roll, the Rolling Stones started out playing cover versions and were at the forefront of the British Invasion in 1964, becoming identified with the youthful counterculture of the 1960s. They then found greater success with their own compositions: "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "Get Off of My Cloud" (both 1965) and "Paint It Black" (1966) became international number-one hits. Aftermath (1966), their first album to be entirely of original material, is often considered to be the most important of their early albums. In 1967, they had the double-sided hit "Ruby Tuesday"/"Let's Spend the Night Together" and experimented with psychedelic rock on Their Satanic Majesties Request. By the end of the 1960s, they had returned to their rhythm and blues-based rock sound, with hit singles "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1968) and "Honky Tonk Women" (1969), and albums Beggars Banquet (1968), featuring "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Street Fighting Man", and Let It Bleed (1969), featuring "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Gimme Shelter" (read more).

My Russia #12 - Winter in Belaya Gora in Perm Krai

In winter in Belaya Gora, Perm Krai.

Sent by Alexey from Vladimir Oblast, Russia.

Belaya Gora is a  village under the administrative jurisdiction of the town of krai significance of Chaykovsky in Perm Krai.

My Russia #11 - Countryside Autumn in Leningrad Oblast

Countryside autumn. Leningrad Oblast.

Sent by Nastya from Russia.

Leningrad Oblast (Russian: Ленинградская область, romanized: Leningradskaya oblastʹ, IPA: [lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ]; Veps: Leningradan agj; Finnish: Leningradin alue) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of 84,500 square kilometres (32,600 sq mi) and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Census. Leningrad Oblast is highly industrialized. Its administrative center and largest city is Gatchina.

The oblast was established on 1 August 1927, although it was not until 1946 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position. The oblast was named after the city of Leningrad. In 1991, the city restored its original name, Saint Petersburg, but the oblast retains the name of Leningrad. It overlaps the historical region of Ingria, and is bordered by Finland (Kymenlaakso and South Karelia) in the northwest and Estonia (Ida-Viru County) in the west, as well as five federal subjects of Russia: the Republic of Karelia in the northeast, Vologda Oblast in the east, Novgorod Oblast in the south, Pskov Oblast in the southwest, and the federal city of Saint Petersburg in the west (read more).

My Russia #10 - Verkhosunye Village in Kirov Oblast

A warm June evening, Verkhosunye village, Kirov region.

Sent by Ekaterina from Lipetsk Oblast, Russia.

Verkhosunye (Верхосунье) is a village or localitywithin the KirovOblast (Region) in Russia, known for its rural landscapes, meadows (even dandelion-filled ones!), and connection to the broader Kirov area, named after Soviet leader Sergei Kirov, located on the Vyatka River, with Yandex Weather showing snow maps for the area. 

My Russia #9 - Brown Bear at Central Forest Reserve, Tver Region

Brown bear in Central Forest Reserve, Tver region.

Sent by Varya from Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Central Forest Nature Reserve (Russian: Центрально-Лесной заповедник) (also, Tsentralno-Lesnoi) is a zapovednik (strict ecological reserve) in the north-west of Russia, located in Andreapolsky and Nelidovsky Districts of Tver Oblast, in the upper course of the Mezha River. It was established on 4 May 1930. The nature reserve is created to protect the conifer forest in the upper course of the Western Dvina River. Since 1985, it is classified as UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (read more).

My Russia #8 - Arkhangelsk From The Train Window

From the train window. Arkhangelsk region.

Sent by Natalia from Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Arkhangelsk Oblast (Russian: Архангельская область, IPA: [ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ]) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, as well as the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea. Arkhangelsk Oblast also has administrative jurisdiction over the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO). Including the NAO, Arkhangelsk Oblast has an area of 587,400 square kilometres (226,800 sq mi), it is the largest of first-level administrative divisions in Europe. Its population (including the NAO) was 1,227,626 as of the 2010 Census.

The city of Arkhangelsk, with a population of 301,199 as of the 2021 Census, is the administrative center of the oblast. The second largest city is the nearby Severodvinsk, home to Sevmash, a major shipyard for the Russian Navy. Among the oldest populated places of the oblast are Kholmogory, Kargopol, and Solvychegodsk; there are a number of Russian Orthodox monasteries, including the Antoniev Siysky Monastery and the World Heritage Site of the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea.

Plesetsk Cosmodrome is one of three spaceports in Russia (the other two are Kapustin Yar in Astrakhan Oblast and Yasny in Orenburg Oblast) (read more).

Russia - Tomsk Oblast - Tatarskaya Street

A residential building at 46 Tatarskaya Street. A typical example of Tomsk wooden architecture from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, this residential building features a developed system of decorativecarving on its facades. The prominent cornice, supported by carved brackets, and the triangular gable play a prominent role in the facade composition.

Sent by Tatyana from Tomsk, Russia.

Tatarskaya street is between Lenin avenue and the embankment of the river Tom. For centuries the Tatars settled in this place, which was then called the Tatar quarter. 

You can see several restored wooden houses with carved window surrounds between Bazaar lane and Trifonov street. They date back to the 19 century. The center of Tatar culture and a mosque is also on Tatarskaya street.

The most beautiful house is on 46, Tatarskaya St. The house built in 1902 belonged to a Tatar А. Moskov, who was engaged in the sale of horses. With symmetric rows of windows and wood-carved roof decor it has a typical appearance for the most wooden houses of Tomsk (read more).

Russia - Tomsk Oblast - Monument Commemorating 50th Anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's Flight

Commemorative site in honor of the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight into space. The descent capsule of the Soyuz spacecraft.

Sent by Tatyana from Tomsk, Russia.

Russia - Moscow - 100th Anniversary of Pushkino

Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the city of Pushkino, in Moscow Oblast, featuring the "Grieving Mother" Memorial Complex.

Sent by Natalia from Moscow, Russia.

Pushkino (Russian: Пу́шкино, Russian pronunciation: [ˈpuʂkʲɪnə]) is a city and the administrative center of Pushkinsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Ucha and Serebryanka Rivers, 30 kilometers (19 mi) northeast of Moscow. Population: 102,874 (2010 census); 72,425 (2002 census); 75,847 (1989 Soviet census); 57,000 (1974); 30,000 (1959); 21,000 (1939).

According to one of the historic versions, the village of Pushkino was first documented in 1499 when it belonged to Grigory Morkhinin, also known as "Pushka"—a boyar whose male-line descendants include Aleksandr Pushkin. A statue of "Pushka" graces one of the town's main squares. During the following centuries, the neighborhood evolved into a favored summer retreat of Russian nobility. Pushkino was granted town status in August 1925 (read more).

Russia - Rostov Oblast - 80th Anniversary in Rostov-on-Don

80th Anniversary of Victory Day in Rostov-on-Don (City of Military Glory)

Sent by Svetlana from Azov in Rostov Oblast, Russia.

Rostov-on-Don, or simply Rostov, is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, 32 kilometers (20 mi) from the Sea of Azov, directly north of the North Caucasus. The southwestern suburbs of the city lie above the Don river delta. Rostov-on-Don has a population of over one million people and is an important cultural, educational, economic and logistical centre of Southern Russia.

From ancient times, the area around the mouth of the Don River has held cultural and commercial importance. Ancient indigenous inhabitants included the Scythian and Sarmatian tribes. It was the site of Tanais, an ancient Greek colony, Fort Tana under the Genoese, and Fort Azak in the time of the Ottoman Empire (read more).

Russia - Saint Petersburg - Old Trinity Cathedral

Trinity Cathedral (Troitsky Cathedral) in Saint Petersburg.

Sent by Valeriia from Moscow Oblast, Russia.

The Trinity Cathedral (Russian: Троицкий собор, Troitsky sobor; Russian: Троице-Измайловский соборTroitse-Izmailovsky sobor), sometimes called the Troitsky Cathedral, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, is a formerly Russian Imperial Army Izmaylovskiy regiment Russian Orthodox church, an architectural landmark - a late example of the Empire style, built between 1828 and 1835 to a design by Vasily Stasov. It is located due south of the Admiralty on Izmaylovskiy Prospekt, not far from the Tekhnologichesky Institut Metro station.

The cathedral, which can accommodate up to 3,000 visitors, has only recently begun to be restored to its pre-Revolutionary splendor after years of neglect. In honor of the victory in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878, when the Russians liberated Bulgaria from the Ottoman domination, a memorial column was constructed in front of the northern facade of the cathedral in 1886. The cathedral became a part of the Saint Petersburg World Heritage Site in 1990 (read more).