Channel Islands - Bailiwick of Guernsey - Alderney

Moorings alongside the breakwater at Braye Harbour.

Sent by Barbara from Alderney in the Bailiwick of Guernsey in Channel Islands, Great Britain.

Alderney (/ˈɔːldərni/; French: Aurigny [oʁiɲi]; Auregnais: Aoeur'gny) is the most northerly of the Channel Islands. It is part of theBailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is 3 miles (4.8 km) long and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide. The area is 3 square miles (7.8 km²), making it the third-largest island of the Channel Islands, and the second largest in the Bailiwick. It is around 10 miles (16 km) to the west of La Hague on the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy, in France, 20 miles (32 km) to the north-east of Guernsey and 60 miles (97 km) from the south coast of Great Britain. It is the closest of the Channel Islands to both France and the United Kingdom. It is separated from Cap de la Hague by the dangerous Race of Alderney (Le Raz Blanchard).

The island has a population of only 2,091 (Q1 2012) people and they are traditionally nicknamed vaques after the cows, or elselapins after the many rabbits seen in the island. Formally, they are known as Ridunians, from the Latin Riduna.

The only parish of Alderney is the parish of St Anne, which covers the whole island.

The main town, St Anne ('La Ville', or 'Town' in English), is referred to as 'St Anne's'. It features an imposing church and an unevenlycobbled high street. There are a primary school, a secondary school and a post office, and hotels, restaurants, banks and shops. Other settlements include Braye, Newtown, Longis, Crabby and Mannez. (Source)

Netherlands - Sint Michielsgestel

Multiviews of Sint Michielsgestel in the southern part of the Netherlands.

Sent by Tea, a postcrosser from Sint Michielsgestel.

Sint-Michielsgestel [ˌsɪnt.mi.ˈχiɫs.ˌχɛs.təɫ] is a municipality and a town in the southern part of the Netherlands. Sint-Michielsgestel is located directly south of 's-Hertogenbosch, the capital of North Brabant province. Its name refers to archangel St. Michael. (Source)

Transnistria - Pridniestrovian State University of T.G. Shevchenko

The main building of Pridniestrovian State University of T.G. Shevchenko.

Sent by Martin of Slovakia, a TravBuddy member who visited Tiraspol, Transnistria. Thank you very much.

Taras Shevchenko Transnistria State University (Russian: Приднестровский государственный университет имени Т. Г. Шевченко) is the main university located in Tiraspol, the capital of Transnistria. It was founded in 1930 as the Institute of public education in the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, then being a constituent part of the Ukrainian SSR. Honouring the outstanding Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko it was renamed during his 125th anniversary celebration in 1939. The TSTSU consists of 12 buildings. Students can study both internally and in absentia. Not only citizens of Transnistria can study there but also people from abroad. Education can be both free and paid.(Source)

USA - Hawaii - State Flower

Red Hibiscus, the Hawaii State Flower.

Sent by Becky from Hawaii, USA.

The hibiscus, all colors and varieties, was the official Territorial Flower, adopted in the early 1920s. At statehood in 1959, the first state legislature adopted many of Hawaii's symbols as part of the Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS, state laws). It wasn't until 1988, however, that the yellow hibiscus which is native to the islands was selected to represent Hawaii. For this reason, you will see many older photos and postcards with the red hibiscus, or any other color for that matter, as the state flower. These weren't incorrect at the time. (Source)

Antartica - British Antarctic Territory - Port Lockroy

ANTARTICA
Port Lockroy
The United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust exists to conserve evidence of Antarctica's history now and for the future.
The Trust is custodian of historic site no. 61 Port Lockroy 64°49’S, 63°30’W

Sent by The United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust.

Port Lockroy is a natural harbor on north-west shore of Wiencke Island in Palmer Archipelago of the British Antarctic Territory. It was discovered in 1904 and named after Edouard Lockroy, a French politician and Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies, who assisted Jean-Baptiste Charcot in obtaining government support for his French Antarctic Expedition. The harbour was used for whaling between 1911 and 1931. During World War II the British military operation Tabarin established the Port Lockroy base (Station A) on the tinyGoudier Island in the bay, which continued to operate as a British research station until 1962.

In 1996 the Port Lockroy base was renovated and is now a museum and post office operated by the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust. It is designated as Historic Site no. 61 under the Antarctic Treaty and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Antarctica. Proceeds from the small souvenir shop fund the upkeep of the site and other historic sites and monuments in Antarctica.

The Trust collects data for the British Antarctic Survey to observe the effect of tourism on penguins. Half the island is open to tourists, while the other half is reserved for penguins. (Source)

Albania - Vlora

ALBANIA
Llamani Bay, Vlora

Sent by Bessa from Tirana, Albania.

Vlorë (known also by several alternative names) is one of the largest towns and the second largest port city of Albania, after Durrës, with a population of 79,948. It is the city where the Albanian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on November 28, 1912. The city was for a short time the capital of Albania.

Founded as an ancient Greek colony in the 6th century BC by the name of Aulon and continuously inhabited for about 26 centuries, Vlorë is home to the Port of Vlorë and University of Vlorë as the most important economical and cultural city of southwestern Albania.

The modern name for the city is the Albanian form Vlorë or Vlora, both pronounced [ˈvlɔɾə], while in the Gheg dialect it is known as Vlonë. Vlorë was created in antiquity as Greek colony in the territory of Illyria. Its first name, still used today in Greece, was Aulón (Greek: Αυλών), meaning "valley" and possibly a translation of another indigenous name. The Greek name is the source of the Italian name Valona (also used in other languages) and of the obsolete EnglishAvlona. During the Ottoman era, the Turkish Avlonya was also used.

(Source)

USA - Hawaii - State Bird

These Nene or Hawaiian geese are rare and not seen by many visitors to Hawaii. They prefer the Rugged mountain sloped and lava flows in Haleakala National Park on the island of Maui and similar terrain found in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the island of Hawaii. The Nene Goose is Hawaii's State Bird.

Sent by Becky from Hawaii, USA.

The Nene (pronounced "nay-nay") is a land bird and a variety of Hawaiian Goose. It has adapted itself to life in the harsh lava country by transforming its webbed feet into a claw-like shape and modifying its wing structure for shorter flights. Hunting and wild animals all but destroyed the species until they were protected by law and a restoration project was established in 1949.

The Hawaiian state bird, the Nene, was a bird not known to Audubon in his time, and was therefore not included in the 1840 edition of Birds of America. (Source)

Moldova - Traditional Costumes

Moldova
One country's traditions are like pages in a history book. A book that makes the country part of the world heritage.
Moldovans follow their traditions religiously, throughout life.
Moldovan artisans use graphic arts symbolising various traditions from thousands of years ago. The Tree of Life, engraved in stone, symbolises human life and love.

Sent by Natallia, a postcrosser from Moldova.

Macau - Nan Van Night Scene

Nan Van Night Scene.

Sent by himz, a postcrosser from Macau.

USA - Tennessee - Mapcard (2)

VISIT THE BEAUTIFUL STATE OF TENNESSEE!
There's much to see and do in Tennessee, from Memphis, the home of Elvis, to Nashville, Country Music U.S.A., to East Tenn. and the beauty of the Smokey Mountain Range.

Sent by Iris, a postcrosser from Nashville, Tennessee.

Sweden - Stockholm

Old Town, Stockholm, Sweden.

Sent by Sekar from Stockholm, Sweden.

Stockholm (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈstɔkːˈhɔlm, ˈstɔkːˈɔlm, ˈstɔkːɔlm]) is the capital of Sweden and the largest city of Fennoscandia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 871,952 in the municipality (2010), 1,372,565 in the urban area (2010), and 2,119,760 in the metropolitan area (2010). As of 2010, the Stockholm metropolitan area is home to approximately 22% of Sweden's population (read further).

Greenland - Tasiilaq Harbour

Tasiilaq harbour scenery, East Greenland.

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

Tasiilaq, formerly Ammassalik and Angmagssalik, is a town in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland. With 1,930 inhabitants as of 2010, it is the most populous community on the eastern coast, and the seventh-largest town in Greenland. The Sermilik Station, dedicated to the research of the nearby Mittivakkat Glacier, is located near the town. (Source)

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.