Bicycle Collections (#54)
Sent by Marianne from Utrecht, Netherlands.
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Germany - Bavaria - Nuremberg (4)
Greetings From Nuremberg.
Sent by Erwin who lives near Nuremberg, Germany.
Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia - Issum
Issum - Forecourt of the Catholic Parish.
Sent by Ingo from Krefeld in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Issum is a municipality in the district of Kleve, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of Geldern (read more).
China - Liaoning Province - Shenyang
The Impression of Shenyang.
The Charm of Shenyang Landscape
Sent by David from Shenyang in Liaoning Province, China.
Shenyang, formerly known by its Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the provincial capital of Liaoning province. It is the province's most populous city with a population of 9,070,093 as of the 2020 census, also making it the largest city in Northeast China by urban population, and the second-largest by metropolitan population (behind Harbin). The Shenyang metropolitan area is one of the major megalopolises in China, with a population of over 23 million. The city's administrative region includes the ten metropolitan districts, the county-level city of Xinmin, and the counties of Kangping and Faku (read more).
China - Jiangsu Province - Zhouzhuang Town Exploration Guide
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA - KUNSHAN
ZHOUZHUANG TOWN EXPLORATION GUIDE
Sent by Monna from Kunshan in Jiangsu Province, China.
Zhouzhuang (Chinese: 周庄; pinyin: Zhōuzhuāng; Wu: Tseu-zaon) is a water town known for its canals in Jiangsu province, China. It is located within the administrative area of Kunshan, 30 km southeast of the city centre of Suzhou.
Zhouzhuang is a popular tourist destination, classified as a AAAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration. It is noted for its profound cultural background, well preserved ancient residential houses, and elegant watery views. A 2017 article in the Smithsonian Magazine described Zhouzhuang as "the most famous and most commercialized ancient water town in China," noting that its architecture "dates back more than 900 years, with about 60 original brick archways and 100 original courtyards." It has also been called "Venice of the East".
CNN ranked Zhouzhuang the third most beautiful water town in China in 2017 and included it in its 2019 collection of Asia's 13 most picturesque towns (read more).
Monday, June 23, 2025
USA - Wisconsin - Horicon Marsh Education & Visitor Center
HORICON MARSH EDUCATION & VISITOR CENTER
HORICON, WISCONSIN
WOOLY MAMMOTH & NATIVE AMERICAN HUNTER
Sent by Alex from Milwaukee in Wisconsin, USA.
The Ramsar Convention of the United Nations has formally recognized Horicon Marsh as a wetland of international importance. This renowned marsh is now home to the Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center.
The Wildlife Education Program has been conducted at the marsh since the mid-1980s. This program focuses on the marsh's abundant wildlife resources, their ecology and applied management. It relies on diverse wildlife to develop a wide range of educational programs aimed at introducing and sharing our native wildlife with a broad audience.
The Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center, completed in 2009, has a new, modern design and enhanced visitor services (read more).
USA - Alaska - Anchorage
Greetings from Anchorage, Alaska.
Sent by Erica from Anchorage, Alaska, USA.
Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census,] it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Matanuska-Susitna Borough, had a population of 398,328 in 2020, accounting for more than half the state's population. At 1,706 sq mi (4,420 km2) of land area, the city is the fourth-largest by area in the U.S.
Anchorage is in Southcentral Alaska, at the terminus of the Cook Inlet, on a peninsula formed by the Knik Arm to the north and the Turnagain Arm to the south. First settled as a tent city near the mouth of Ship Creek in 1915 when construction on the Alaska Railroad began, Anchorage was incorporated as a city in November 1920. In September 1975, the City of Anchorage merged with the Greater Anchorage Area Borough, creating the Municipality of Anchorage. The municipal city limits span 1,961.1 sq mi (5,079.2 km2), encompassing the urban core, a joint military base, several outlying communities, and almost all of Chugach State Park. Because of this, less than 10 percent of the Municipality (or Muni) is populated, with the highest concentration of people in the 100 square-mile area that makes up the city proper, on a promontory at the headwaters of the inlet, commonly called Anchorage, the City of Anchorage, or the Anchorage Bowl (read more).
Hong Kong - Hong Kong Museum of Art
Hong Kong Museum of Art
Sent by Ah Si Lian from Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) is the first and one of the main art museums of Hong Kong, located in located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, near the Victoria Harbour waterfront, providing a scenic view of Hong Kong’s skyline. It is a public museum managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong Government. HKMoA has an art collection of over 17,000 items, dedicated to preserving and showcasing Chinese and international art. Admission is free for permanent exhibitions. Its rival is the non-government-managed Hong Kong Arts Centre. These two museums are considered to be the top two art museums in Hong Kong that dictate the discourse of art in Hong Kong.
It has an extended branch, the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, at the Hong Kong Park in Central (read more).
Sri Lanka - Elephants at Pinnawala
Elephants at Pinnawala.
Sent by Malika from Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage (Sinhala: පින්නවල අලි අනාථාගාරය), is a captive breeding and conservation institute for wild Asian elephants located at Pinnawala village, 13 km (8.1 mi) northeast of Kegalle town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. Pinnawala has the largest herd of captive elephants in the world. In 2023, there were 71 elephants, including 30 males and 41 females from 3 generations, living in Pinnawala.
The orphanage was founded to care and protect the many orphaned unweaned wild elephants found wandering in and near the forests of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1975 by the Sri Lanka Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC).
On 31 August 2021, a 25 year old elephant named Surangi gave birth to twin male baby elephants at the orphanage. It also marked the first instance of the birth of twin elephants in Sri Lanka after a gap of 80 years since 1941 (read more).
Denmark - Monarchy of Denmark
Crown Princess Mary (born 1972)
Frederik Prince of Demark, Crown Prince (born 1968)
Sent by Linda from Hasselager, Denmark.
The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark was already consolidated in the 8th century, whose rulers are consistently referred to in Frankish sources (and in some late Frisian sources) as "kings" (reges). Under the rule of King Gudfred in 804 the Kingdom may have included all the major provinces of medieval Denmark.
The current unified Kingdom of Denmark was founded or re-united by the Viking kings Gorm the Old and Harald Bluetooth in the 10th century. Originally an elective monarchy, it became hereditary only in the 17th century during the reign of Frederick III. A decisive transition to a constitutional monarchy occurred in 1849 with the writing of the first democratic constitution, replacing the vast majority of the old absolutist constitution. The current Royal House is a branch of the ducal House of Glücksburg, originally from Schleswig-Holstein in modern-day Germany, the House of Glücksburg itself being a collateral branch of the House of Oldenburg. The House of Glücksburg also produced the monarchs of Norway, of the United Kingdom and the former monarch of Greece in the direct male line (read more).
Togo - Illustration of Togo Map
An illustration of Togo map.
Sent by Taouvik Boukari from Togo.
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It is one of the least developed countries and extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its capital, Lomé, is located. It is a small, tropical country, spanning 57,000 square kilometres (22,000 square miles) with a population of approximately 8 million, and it has a width of less than 115 km (71 mi) between Ghana and its eastern neighbour Benin (read more).
India - Himachal Pradesh - Kee Monastery in Spiti (2)
KEE MONASTERY, Spiti, India.
One of the three postcards sent by stranger from the highest Post Office in the world, in Hikkim in Himachal Pradesh. Unfortunetely the postcard is not stamped and cancelled. The three postcards were sent in an envelope.
India - Himachal Pradesh - Kee Monastery in Spiti (1)
KEE MONASTERY, Spiti.
One of the three postcards sent by stranger from the highest Post Office in the world, in Hikkim in Himachal Pradesh. Unfortunetely the postcard is not stamped and cancelled. The three postcards were sent in an envelope.
Kye Gompa (Tibetan: དཀྱིལ་དགོན་, Wylie: dkyil dgon; also spelled Kyi, Ki, Key, or Kee; pronounced like the English word key) is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Gelugpa sect located on top of a hill at an altitude of 4,166 metres (13,668 ft) above sea level, close to the Spiti River, in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh, Lahaul and Spiti district, India.
It is the largest monastery of the Spiti Valley and a religious training centre for lamas. It reportedly had 100 monks in 1855.
The monastery is dedicated to Lochen Tulku, the 24th reincarnation of the great translator Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo.
It is about 12 km (7.5 mi) north of Kaza and 210 km (130 mi) from Manali by road (read more).
India - Himachal Pradesh - Tabo Monastery in Spiti
TABO MONASTERY, Spiti.
One of the three postcards sent by stranger from the highest Post Office in the world, in Hikkim in Himachal Pradesh. Unfortunetely the postcard is not stamped and cancelled. The three postcards were sent in an envelope.
Tabo Monastery (or Tabo Chos-Khor Monastery) is located in the Tabo village of Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh, northern India. It was founded in 996 CE in the Tibetan year of the Fire Ape by the Tibetan Buddhist lotsawa (translator) Rinchen Zangpo (Mahauru Ramabhadra), on behalf of the king of western Himalayan Kingdom of Guge, Yeshe-Ö. Tabo is noted for being the oldest continuously operating Buddhist enclave in both India and the Himalayas. A large number of frescoes displayed on its walls depict tales from the Buddhist pantheon. There are many priceless collections of thankas (scroll paintings), manuscripts, well-preserved statues, frescos and extensive murals which cover almost every wall. The monastery is in need of refurbishing as the wooden structures are aging and the thanka scroll paintings are fading. After the earthquake of 1975, the monastery was rebuilt, and in 1983 a new Du-kang or Assembly Hall was constructed. It is here that the 14th Dalai Lama held the Kalachakra ceremonies in 1983 and 1996. The monastery is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as a national historic treasure of India (read more).
uncancelled stamps on the envelope
Portugal - Tomar
Saint John the Baptist Church
Republic Square
TOMAR
Portugal
Sent by Tracy from Tomar, Portugal.
Tomar (Portuguese pronunciation: [tuˈmaɾ]), also known in English as Thomar (the ancient name of Tomar), is a Portuguese city and a municipality in the historical Ribatejo Portuguese province, and in Santarém district. The town proper has a population of about 20,000. The municipality population in 2011 was 40,677, in an area of 351.20 km2 (135.60 sq mi).
The town of Tomar was created inside the walls of the Convento de Cristo, constructed under the orders of Gualdim de Pais, the fourth Grand Master of the Knights Templar in Portugal in the late 12th century.
Tomar was the last Templar town to be commissioned for construction and one of Portugal's historical jewels. The town was especially important in the 15th century when it was a center of Portuguese overseas expansion under Henry the Navigator, the Grand Master of the Order of Christ, successor organization to the Knights Templar in Portugal (read more).
Malaysia - Negeri Sembilan - Seremban
Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.
Sent by Afiza from Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Terima kasih banyak-banyak (thank you very much).
Seremban (Negeri Sembilan Malay: Somban) is a city in the Seremban District and the capital of the state of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia. The city's administration is run by the Seremban City Council.
Seremban gained its city status on 20 January 2020. Covering an area of 959 km², Seremban's population is 681,541 as of 2020, making it the tenth largest city in Malaysia and the fifth most populous state capital behind Johor Bahru, Shah Alam, George Town and Ipoh. It is part of the Greater Kuala Lumpur area, being situated approximately 55 kilometres south of Kuala Lumpur and 37 kilometres south of the federal administrative capital of Putrajaya. Since 2015, Seremban has been the major anchor city of the Malaysia Vision Valley, Negeri Sembilan's main special economic zone spanning the state's western half (read more).
Friday, June 20, 2025
Mauritius - Typical Landscapes
MAURITIUS
Typical Landscapes
Sent by Tasneem from Phoenix in Mauritius.
Moldova - Pressing of Grapes For Making Fine Wine
Old pressing of grapes for making fine wine.
Sent by Olga of Latvia from Chișinău, Moldova.
Moldova has a well-established wine industry. With a production of around 2 million hectolitres of wine (as of 2018), it is the 11th largest European wine-producing country. Moldova has a vineyard area of 148,500 hectares (367,000 acres) of which 107,800 hectares (266,000 acres) are used for commercial production. The remaining 40,700 hectares (101,000 acres) are vineyards planted in villages around the houses used to make home-made wine. Many families have their own recipes and strands of grapes that have been passed down through the generations. There are 3 historical wine regions: Valul lui Traian (south west), Stefan Voda (south east) and Codru (center), destined for the production of wines with protected geographic indication.
In 2022 the majority of wines were exported, being sent to 75 countries, with 60% of wine produced being exported to European Union countries (read more).
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