Greenland - Ringed Seal (Pusa hispida)

Ringed Seal.

Sent by Anna, a TravBuddy member from Nuuk in Greenland.

The ringed seal (Pusa hispida), also known as the jar seal and as netsik or nattiq by the Inuit, is an earless seal (family: Phocidae) inhabiting the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. The ringed seal is a relatively small seal, rarely greater than 1.5 m in length, with a distinctive patterning of dark spots surrounded by light grey rings, whence its common name. It is the most abundant and wide-ranging ice seal in the northern hemisphere: ranging throughout the Arctic Ocean, into the Bering Sea and Okhotsk Sea as far south as the northern coast of Japan in the Pacific, and throughout the North Atlantic coasts of Greenland and Scandinavia as far south asNewfoundland, and include two freshwater subspecies in northern Europe. Ringed seals are one of the primary prey of polar bears and have long been a component of the diet of indigenous people of the Arctic.

The ringed seal is the smallest and most common seal in the Arctic, with a small head, short cat-like snout, and a plump body. Its coat is dark with silver rings on the back and sides with a silver belly, from which this seal gets its vernacular name. Depending on subspecies and condition, adult size can range from 100 to 175 cm (40–69 in) and weigh from 32 to 140 kg (70-308 lbs). The seal averages about 5 ft (1.5 m) long with a weight of about 50–70 kg (110-150 lbs). This species is usually considered the smallest species in the true seal family, although several related species, especially the Baikal, may approach similarly diminutive dimensions. Their small front flippers have claws more than 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick that are used to maintain breathing holes through 6.5 ft (2 m) thick ice. (Source)

Taiwan - Taipei - Grand Hotel

Grand Hotel, Taipei.

Sent by Naoko, a postcrosser from Taiwan.

The Grand Hotel (Chinese: 圓山大飯店; literally "Yuanshan Great Hotel"), is a landmark located at Yuanshan (圓山) inZhongshan District, Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan). The hotel was established in May 1952 and the main building was completed on October 10, 1973. It is owned by the Duen-Mou Foundation of Taiwan, a non-profit organization, and has played host to many foreign dignitaries who have visited Taipei.

The main building of the hotel is one of the world's tallest Chinese classical building, it is 87 metres (285 ft) high. It was also the tallest building in Taiwan from 1973 to 1981.

After Chiang Kai-shek's retreat to Taiwan in 1949, Chiang felt it was difficult to accommodate foreign ambassadors due to the lack of five-star hotels in Taipei. He wanted to build an extravagant hotel that would cater to foreign guests. His wifeSoong May-ling suggested to build it on the old Taiwan Hotel on Yuanshan Mountain, the site of the ruins of the Taiwan Grand Shrine, a Shinto shrine during the Japanese rule. Chiang decided on a Chinese palace-style architecture to promoteChinese culture to the West through its extravagance. Taipei-based architect Yang Cho-Cheng was responsible for the design of the new hotel.

The hotel was established in May 1952, but it was expanded several times before it became the landmark it is known as today. The swimming pool, tennis court, and the membership lounge were constructed in 1953, and the Golden Dragon Pavilion and Golden Dragon Restaurant opened in 1956. The Jade Phoenix Pavilion and Chi-Lin Pavilion opened in 1958 and 1963, respectively. In 1968, the hotel was rated as one of the world's top ten hotels by the US Fortune magazine. Finally, on the Double Tenth Day of 1973, the main Grand Hotel building was completed and became an instant Taipei icon.

In June 1995, a disastrous fire broke out on the roof of the main building during necessary reconstruction and refurbishment. As neither ladders nor high pressure pumps could reach the fire, the roof and the upper floors were destroyed. Not until 1998 did the hotel recover from the damage and became fully reopened to the public. Following the fire, the two dragon heads on the roof were rotated 180 degrees to point inwards. As dragons are traditionally a symbol of rain and water, this was intended to symbolize preparedness against a future fire.

Russia - Astrakhan Oblast - Volga Delta

The magic world of the Volga Delta. Thanks to Marat of Astrakhan for the translation :)

Sent by Anna, a postcrosser from Astrakhan City, Russia.

The Volga Delta is the largest river delta in Europe, and occurs where Europe's largest river system, the Volga River, drains into the Caspian Sea in Russia's Astrakhan Oblast, north-east of the republic ofKalmykia. The delta is located in the Caspian Depression—the far eastern part of the delta lies in Kazakhstan. The delta drains into the Caspian approximately 60 km downstream from the city of Astrakhan.
The Volga Delta has grown significantly in the past century because of changes in the level of the Caspian Sea. In 1880, the delta had an area of 3,222 km². Today the Volga Delta covers an area of 27,224 km² and is approximately 160 km across. It has a classical "delta pattern". The delta lies in the arid climate zone, characterized by very little rainfall. The region receives less than one inch of rainfall in January and in July in normal years. Strong winds often sweep across the delta and form linear dunes. Along the front of the delta, one will find muddy sand shoals, mudflats, and coquina banks.
The changing level of the Caspian Sea has resulted in three distinct zones in the delta. The higher areas of the first zone are known as "Behr's mounds," which are linear ridges of clayey sands ranging from 400 m to 10 km in length, and averaging about eight meters in height. Between the Behr's mounds are depressions that fill with water and become either fresh or saline bays. The second zone, in the delta proper, generally has very little relief (usually less than one meter), and is the site of active and abandoned water channels, small dunes and algal flats. The third zone is composed of a broad platform extending up to 60 km offshore, and is the submarine part of the delta.
The delta has been protected since the early 1900s, with one of the first Russian nature preserves (Astrakhan Nature Reserve) having been set up there in 1919, but much of the local fauna is considered endangered. The Delta is a major staging area for many species of water birds, raptors and passerines. Although the delta is best known for its sturgeons, catfish and carp are also found in large numbers in the delta region. The lotus has been adopted as the motif of the national flag of the neighbouring Kalmyks, since it is a venerated symbol in their Tibetan Buddhist beliefs - they are the sole European people of Mongolian (Oirat) origin. (Source)

Germany - Saarbrücken

 

Multiviews of Saarbrücken.

Sent by Kristine from Saarbrücken, Germany.

Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders Dillingen to the west and Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live, to the north-east. Saarbrücken used to be the industrial and transport centre of a great coal basin. Products included iron and steel, sugar, beer, pottery, optical instruments, machinery, and construction materials. However, over the past decades the industrial importance of Saarland has declined, as the mining industry has become unprofitable. Historic landmarks in the city include the stone bridge across the Saar (1546), the Gothic church of St Arnual, the 18th-century Saarbrücker Schloss (castle) and the old part of the town, the St. Johanner Markt. In 1815 Saarbrücken came under Prussian control, and for two periods in the 20th century (1919–35 and 1945–57) it was part of the Saar territory under French administration. For this reason, coupled with its proximity to the French border, it retains a certain French influence.(Source)

 

Bicycle (32)

Sent by Julia, a postcrosser from Russia. Thanks for the beautiful stamps :)

Bhutan - The Mask Dance of the Drums from Drametse

Traditional mask dancer at a Bhutanese festival.

Sent by Ben, a TravBuddy friend from Bhutan.

The Drametse Ngacham (Mask Dance) of the Drametse community is a sacred cultural and religious mask dance performed during the Drametse Festival in honour of Padmasambhava, a Buddhist guru. It takes place twice a year, during the fifth month and the tenth month of the Bhutanese calendar. The festival is held by the Ogyen Tegchok Namdroel Choeling Monastery, situated in the Mongar district of eastern Bhutan. The dance features sixteen masked male dancers wearing colorful costumes and ten other men comprising the orchestra lead by a cymbal player. The dance has a calm and contemplative part that represents the peaceful deities and a rapid and athletic part, where the dancers represent wrathful deities.

Dancers dressed in monastic robes and wearing wooden masks with features of real and mythical animals perform a prayer dance in the soeldep cham, the main shrine, before appearing one by one on the main courtyard. The dance performance is accompanied by traditional instruments, which are played by an orchestra and by the dancers themselves. The orchestra consists of cymbals, trumpets and drums, including the bang nga, a large cylindrical drum, the lag nga, a small hand-held circular, flat drum and the nga chen, a drum beaten with a bended drumstick.

The Drametse Ngacham has been performed in this location for centuries. The form has both religious and cultural significance, because it is believed to have originally been performed by the heroes and heroines of the celestial world. In the 19th century, versions of the Drametse Ngacham were introduced in other parts of Bhutan. For the audience, the dance is a source of spiritual empowerment and is attended by people from Drametse as well as neighbouring villages and districts to obtain blessings.  Today, the dance has evolved from a local event centered around a particular community into something approaching a national art form, representing the identity of the Bhutanese nation as a whole.

Although the dance is highly appreciated among all generations, the number of practitioners is dwindling due to the lack of rehearsal time, the absence of a systematic mechanism to train and honour the dancers and musicians and the gradual decrease in interest among young people. At present, there are only a handful of expert practitioners with comprehensive knowledge about the traditional features of the dance. Moreover, the spreading of the dance to other parts of the country inevitably leads to its distortion. (Source)

Bhutan

Amankhora, view from inside

Sent by Ben, a TravBuddy friend from Bhutan.

Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlockedstate in South Asia located at the eastern end of the Himalayas. It is bordered to the north by China and to the south, east and west by the Republic of India. Further west, it is separated from Nepal by the Indian state of Sikkim, while further south it is separated fromBangladesh by the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal. Bhutan's capital and largest city is Thimphu.

Bhutan existed as a patchwork of minor warring fiefdoms until the early 17th century, when the lama and military leader ShabdrungNgawang Namgyal, fleeing religious persecution in Tibet, unified the area and cultivated a distinct Bhutanese identity. Later, in the early 20th century, Bhutan came into contact with the British Empire and retained strong bilateral relations with India upon its independence. In 2006, based on a global survey, Business Week rated Bhutan the happiest country in Asia and the eighth-happiest in the world.

Bhutan's landscape ranges from subtropical plains in the south to the sub-alpine Himalayan heights in the north, where some peaks exceed 7,000 metres (23,000 ft). Its total area was reported as approximately 46,500 km² (18,000 sq mi) in 1997 and 38,394 square kilometres (14,824 sq mi) in 2002. Bhutan's state religion is Vajrayana Buddhism and the population, now (as of 2012/2013) estimated to be nearly three-quarters of a million, is predominantly Buddhist. Hinduism is the second-largest religion.

In 2008, Bhutan made the transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy and held its first general election. As well as being a member of the United Nations, Bhutan is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and hosted SAARC's sixteenth summit in April 2010.

Faroe Islands - Atlantic Airways

 

Atlantic Airways, Vágar. 

Sent by Regin, TravBuddy friend from Faroe Islands. 

Atlantic Airways (OMX: FO-AIR) is the national airline of the Faroe Islands, operating domestic helicopter services and international passenger services as well as search and rescue responsibilities from its base at Vágar Airport, on the Faroese island of Vágar.Most of its pilots are members of the Faroese Pilot Association.(Source)

Malaysia - Penang - George Town Street Art

Clockwise from top :
1. Narrowest Five Foot Way Sculpture, Stewart Lane.
2. Ting Ting Thong Sculpture,Sek Chuan Lane.
3. Tok Tok Mee Sculpture, China Street.
4. One Leg Kicks All Sculpture, Muntri Street

The murals were created by Ernest Zacharevic for the George Town Festival 2012.
The iron sculptures were commissioned by the Municipal Council of Penang Island (MPPP), GTWHI and the state government and placed around the heritage areas to depict the street history of George Town.

Sent by SL Liew from Penang, Malaysia.

Kyrgyzstan - Bishkek At Night

Bishkek at night.

Sent by Maria from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Bishkek (in Kyrgyz and Russian: Бишкéк), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of Chuy Province which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province but rather a province-level unit of Kyrgyzstan.

The name is thought to derive from a Kyrgyz word for a churn used to make fermented mare's milk (kumis), the Kyrgyz national drink. Founded in 1825 as the Kyrgyz-Khokand fortress of "Bishkek", then, in 1862, named as the Russian fortress Pishpek(крепость Пишпек), in 1926 the city was renamed Frunze (Фрунзе), after the Bolshevik military leader Mikhail Frunze. In 1991, the Kyrgyz parliament restored the city's historical name.

Bishkek is situated at about 800 metres (2,600 ft) altitude just off the northern fringe of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too range, an extension of the Tian Shan mountain range, which rises up to 4,855 metres (15,928 ft) and provides a spectacular backdrop to the city. North of the city, a fertile and gently undulating steppe extends far north into neighboring Kazakhstan. The Chui River drains most of the area. Bishkek is connected to the Turkestan-Siberia Railway by a spur line.

Bishkek is a city of wide boulevards and marble-faced public buildings combined with numerous Soviet-style apartment blocks surrounding interior courtyards and, especially outside the city centre, thousands of smaller privately built houses. It is laid out on a grid pattern, with most streets flanked on both sides by narrow irrigation channels that water the innumerable trees which provide shade in the hot summers.(Source)

Kyrgyzstan - Kyrgyz Yurta

Kyrgyz Yurta.

Sent by Maria from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

A yurt is a portable, bent dwelling structure traditionally used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. The structure comprises a crown or compression wheel usually steam bent, supported by roof ribs which are bent down at the end where they meet the lattice wall (again steam bent). The top of the wall is prevented from spreading by means of a tension band which opposes the force of the roof ribs. The structure is usually covered by layers of fabric and sheep's wool felt for insulation and weatherproofing.(Source)

Bicycle (31)

Sent by Sander, a postcrosser from Groningen, Netherlands.

Bulgaria - Folk Costumes

Bulgarian folk costumes,

Koprivshtitsa Festival

Sent by Simeon, a postcrosser from Varna, Bulgaria.

USA - Wyoming - Grand Teton National Park (2)

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK

Sent by Zwollywood, a postcrosser from Germany.

Bicycle (30)

Antique tricycle in sunrise.

Sent by Svenja, a postcrosser from Herne, Germany.

Hong Kong - Night View From Kowloon

HONG KONG

Night view from KLN.

Sent by Jenny, a postcrosser from Hong Kong.

Kowloon (/ˌkaʊˈluːn/; traditional Chinese: 九龍; jyutping: gau²lung⁴) is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, the mountain range including Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had apopulation of 2,019,533 and a population density of 43,033/km² in 2006. Kowloon is located north of Hong Kong Island and south of the mainland part of the New Territories. The peninsula's area is approximately 47 km² or 18.1 mi². Together with Hong Kong Island, it contains 48 percent of Hong Kong's total population.

The systematic transcription Kau Lung or Kau-lung was often used in derived place names before World War II, for example Kau-lung Bay instead of Kowloon Bay. Other spellings include Kauloong and Kawloong.

Slovenia - Kamnik

 

SLOVENIA 

Kamnik 

Sent by Karmen from Kamnik, Slovenia.

Kamnik is the town in northern Slovenia. It is the central settlement of theMunicipality of Kamnik. It encompasses a large part of the Kamnik Alps and the surrounding area. The town of Kamnik has ruins of two castles as well as many examples of historical architecture.

The name Kamnik was first mentioned in the 11th century. The first time it was mentioned as a town was in 1229, when it was an important trading post on the road between Ljubljana and Celje. This makes the town one of the oldest in Slovenia. In the Middle Ages, Kamnik had its own mint and some aristocratic families among its residents. The town was among the most influential centers of power for the Bavarian counts of Andechs in the region of Carniola at the time. The only remnant of the Bavarian nobility are the two ruined castles which are both strategically built on high ground near the town center. The Franciscan monastery built in the town itself is a testament to its importance. The building is well preserved and has undergone extensive renovation in recent years.

Most of the old town center is built in an Austro-Hungarian style. Most of the facades have been renovated in recent years but the process is still ongoing.

USA - Maryland - Flag & State Flower

MARYLAND 

The Black-Eyed Susans are the State Flower, and the Maryland flag has been recognized as the most beautiful flag of all 50 United States. 

Sent by Arnold from Texas, USA.

 

Bicycle (29)

 

 Sent by Eero, a postcrosser from Finland.

Bicycle (28)

 

 Sent by Sharina, a postcrosser from the Netherlands.

Cuba - Havana - El Capitolio

CUBA

Vista desde El Capitolio

Sent by Jos from Cuba.

This is from Wikipedia : El Capitolio, or National Capitol Building in Havana, Cuba, was the seat of government in Cuba until after the Cuban Revolution in 1959, and is now home to the Cuban Academy of Sciences. Its design and name recall the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., but it is only superficially similar. Completed in 1929, it was the tallest building in Havana until the 1950s and houses the world's third largest indoor statue.

The project began on April 1926, during the Gerardo Machado administration. Construction was overseen by the U.S. firm of Purdy and Henderson.te were based in the building. When the Communist Regime abolished and disbanded the Congress in 1959, the building lost its purpose as the House of the People. Later it ended up as the headquarters of the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment. The main floor (which is on the first storey) is open to visitors and many of the rooms are used to host conferences and meetings.

The neoclassical building has some resemblance to the U.S. Capitol, although according to Raynieri the inspiration for the cupolacame from the Panthéon in Paris.

The cupola, which is stone clad around a steel frame which was constructed in the United States and imported to Cuba, is set forward on the building to allow for some large rooms at the rear, including what is now the National Library of Science and Technology. In the original design the dome was to be decorated with stylised palm leaves but this addition was never executed. At almost 92 m (300 ft) high, the dome was the highest point in the city of Havana until the 1950s (this honour now belongs to the José Martí Memorial). It was the third highest cupola in the world at the time of its construction.

Around the building are gardens laid out by French landscape architect and designer Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier at the time of the original construction. Based on the designs of some of the beautiful simple European gardens they consist of areas of lawn bordered by paths and highlighted by palms. Four groups of Royal Palms accent the design.