Finland - Southwest Finland - Turku (2)

TURKU, FINLAND 

Sent by Mirjami from Turku, Finland.

This is my second postcard of Turku in a month. My first one is here.

Germany - Saxony - Leipzig Steam Cultural Tour Train

Steam locomotive 52 8079-7 of Leipzig Steam Cultural Tour near Staßfurt.

Sent by Hanko fro Schmelz, Germany. Thanks for the stamp of train on the postcard.

No matter whether you love nature; like to explore buildings of past centuries; want to go hiking, cycling, horseback riding; or just want to be pampered; there will be something for everyone. All visitors planning to explore the landscape of Saxony's castle and heathland region by car, railway or in a different way, will have the chance to make their own discoveries. The warmth of Saxons and the exemplary Saxon cosiness along with the delicious regional cuisine will give your stay a really special atmosphere.

In the heart of Saxony's castle and heathland region, you will find the woodlands of Dahlen Heath as well as Wermsdorf Forest offering extensive hiking and biking trails. And where, other than in the heart of Saxony's stunning castle and heathland region, could be a better place for the Saxon STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE to start? You could start your journey through the Free State by taking a ride on the Döllnitzbahn railway. The Döllnitzbahn railway will take you from the town of Oschatz, where restored historic buildings and alleys keep the pulse of a former epoch, out into the country. Passing rivers, meadows and fields, you will reach districts of the commune of Sornzig-Ablass in addition to the commune of Naundorf and the town of Mügeln (read more).

Finland - Mapcard (2)

Map of Finland.

Sent by Anne from Tampere, Finland. Tampere is on the 7th red dot if you follow the route from the top.

My other mapcard of Finland is here.

U.S.A. - Connecticut - Mapcard (2)

Greetings from CONNECTICUT

Nickname : The Nutmeg State

2010 Population : 3,574,097

Area in Square Miles : 4,965

Entered the Union : January, 9th. 1798

Sent by Grace from East Windsor in Connecticut, USA.

My other mapcard of Connecticut is here. Coincidentally, this first card was also sent by Grace 12 years ago via Direct Swap.

uncancelled stamp

Bicycle (50)

As if in homage to a man who had chronicled New York City life for so long and so tirelessly, there was a move en masse to Bill's vehicle of choice : the bicycle.

Postcard Bill Cunningham, Photo Fashion Polka Dot Dress Bike Rider.

Sent by Simone from Switzerland.

HAPPY TO RECEIVE MY 50TH POSTCARD OF BICYCLES..

Bicycle (49)

Vintage Victorian Couple on Tandem Bicycle.

Sent by Kerstin from South Germany.

The nineteenth century’s bicycle craze included bicycles for two. Some gave pals (both male) an opportunity for sport, exercise, and freedom. Others were leveraged for courtship and time alone with a man’s best gal. Some were truly tandem (situated one in front of the other). Others allowed the lady to pedal while others simply sat her in a place of prominence allowing her a view of the road ahead. And some existed for a brief period of time until the next great thing came along (read more).

Ukraine - Chernihiv

Damaged windows of Chernihiv, Ukraine. Spring 2022.

Sent by Daria from Lviv, Ukraine.

Chernihiv (Ukrainian: Чернігів, IPA: [tʃerˈn⁽ʲ⁾iɦiu̯] ; Russian: Чернигов, romanized: Chernigov, IPA: [tɕɪrˈnʲiɡəf]) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is 282,747 (2022 estimate).

The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine by the Ukrainian government during the Russian invasion of Ukraine (read more).

Ukraine - Ternopil

Ternopil, Ukraine.

Sent by Anna from Ternopil, Ukraine.

Ternopil, known until 1944 mostly as Tarnopol, is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical regions of Galicia and Podolia. The population of Ternopil was estimated at 225,004 (2022 estimate).

The city is the administrative center of Ternopil Oblast (region), as well as of surrounding Ternopil Raion (district) within the oblast. It hosts the administration of Ternopil urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine (read more).

Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia - Cologne's Flora Botanical Garden

Flora Botanical Garden.

Sent by Jacqueline from Cologne, Germany.

The Flora und Botanischer Garten Köln (11.5 hectares) is a municipal formal park and botanical garden located adjacent to Cologne Zoological Garden at Amsterdamer Straße 34, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is open daily without charge.

The garden dates to 1863 when a private company was organized to create Flora park (5.5 hectares) as a replacement for the city's older botanical garden near the Cologne Cathedral, which in 1857 was destroyed for construction of the central railway station. This new park was designed by Peter Joseph Lenné in 1864 in a mixed German style, incorporating French Baroque, Italian Renaissance, and English landscape garden elements. In its center is a glass palace (orangery) structure of cast iron and glass patterned upon the Crystal Palace (London) and Jardin d'hiver (Paris), which served as an exhibition site through the late 19th century, including horticultural exhibitions in 1875 and 1888, and an industrial exhibition in 1889. Frauen-Rosenhof, an Art Nouveau garden, was added in 1906 (read more).

Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia - Gasometer Oberhausen

Gasometer at Night.

Sent by Markus from Oelde in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

The Gasometer Oberhausen is a former gas holder in Oberhausen, Germany, which has been converted into an exhibition space. It has hosted several large scale exhibitions, including two by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The Gasometer is an industrial landmark, and an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage and the Industrial Heritage Trail. It was built in the 1920s, and reconstructed after World War II.

n the 1920s the coal and steel industry in the Ruhrgebiet produced blast furnace gas and coal gas as a by-product of iron production and coking. The steel industry and coking processes used large amounts of these gasses or alternative fuels. As supply and demand of gas varied independently, sometimes excess gas had to be flared off, while at other times additional fuel had to be purchased. The Gasometer was built as a buffer: storing excess gas and releasing it again when demand exceeded production (read more).

Germany - Bavaria - Nuremberg (3)

Nuremberg - city view with Imperial Castle.

Sent by Heidi from Nuremberg, Germany

My other two postcards of Nurember are here, and here.

Nuremberg Castle (German: Nürnberger Burg) is a group of medieval fortified buildings on a sandstone ridge dominating the historical center of Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany.

The castle, together with the city walls, is considered to be one of Europe's most formidable medieval fortifications. It represented the power and importance of the Holy Roman Empire and the outstanding role of the Imperial City of Nuremberg (read more).

Germany - Neuschwanstein Castle (3)

Royal Castle Neuschwanstein, Germany.

Built 1869-1886 under King Ludwig II of Bavaria.

Sent by Kurt from South Bavaria, Germany.

My other two postcards of Neuschwanstein Castle are here, and here.

Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia - Müngsten Bridge

Müngsten Bridge.

Sent by Ralf from Remscheid, Germany.

The Müngsten Bridge is the highest railway bridge in Germany. The bridge is 107 metres (351 ft) high and spans the valley of the river Wupper, carrying the Wuppertal-Oberbarmen–Solingen railway between the cities of Remscheid and Solingen. It is used by line S7 of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn and the RE47 Regional-Express service, although the RE47 service is being operated by a replacement bus service until 2026.

Originally the bridge was named the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Brücke (Emperor Wilhelm Bridge) to honour Emperor Wilhelm I. After the end of the monarchy the bridge was renamed after the nearby settlement of Müngsten, which is close to the city limits of Solingen, Remscheid and Wuppertal. Today, the settlement no longer exists, so Müngsten is simply a landmark (read more).

Australia - Mapcard

Australia Blue Map.

Sent by Ros from Tasmania, Australia.

Germany - Oktoberfest München 1981

Official Oktoberfest posters started being produced each year beginning in 1952. This poster was created by German artist Ernst Strom, who also created Oktoberfest posters for 1957, 1958, and 1967.

Sent by Anastasiia from Chemnitz in Saxony, Germany.

USA - North Carolina - Mapcard (4)

Mapcard of North Carolina.

Sent by Sandra from Asheville in North Carolina, USA.

My other three mapcards of North Carolina are here, here, and here.

India - Kaavadi Bearer

During Thaipusam, not everyone pierces their bodies or bears painful Kaavadi (burden), but the ones who do create quite a spectacle.

Sent by Kishore from Tamilpādi in the State of Tamil Nādu, India.

The Kavadi Attam is the sacrificial offering performed by devotees to Lord Murugan during the auspicious festival day of Thaipusam. The Kavadi itself is a physical burden through which the devotees implore offering prayers for fulfiled or some future requirements from Lord Muruga
.
Devotees prepare for the celebration by cleansing themselves through prayer & fasting for 48 days before Thaipusam. Kavadi-bearers have to perform ceremonies at the time of assuming the kavadi & at the time of offering it to Murugan. The kavadi-bearer observes celibacy, consumes only vegan food & are on a continuous thinking of God. On the day of the festival, devotees shave their heads & undertake a pilgrimage along a set route, while engaging in various acts of devotion, notably carrying various types of kavadis (read more).

Canada - Indians Of The Southwest

COLORFUL INDIANS OF THE SOUTHWEST.

Sent by Lynda from Stouffville in Ontario, Canada.

The "Indians of the Southwest Canada" refers to Indigenous peoples who lived in the southwestern regions of Canada, specifically within the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. These groups include First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people, each with their own distinct cultures, languages, and histories. 

France - Provence

Images of Provence.

Sent by Françoise from Piégon, France.

Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It largely corresponds with the modern administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and includes the departments of Var, Bouches-du-Rhône, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, as well as parts of Alpes-Maritimes and Vaucluse. The largest city of the region and its modern-day capital is Marseille.

The Romans made the region the first Roman province beyond the Alps and called it Provincia Romana, which evolved into the present name. Until 1481 it was ruled by the counts of Provence from their capital in Aquae Sextiae (today Aix-en-Provence), then became a province of the kings of France. It also hosted the Avignon papacy in the middle ages, when the Pope and his Curia fled Rome. While the region has been part of France for more than 500 years, it still retains a distinct cultural and linguistic identity, particularly in the interior of the region (read more).

Switzerland - St. Gallen

St. Gallen 670 meter above sea level

Serial view of the monastery district and old town.

Sent by Wanda from Aarau, Switzerland.

St. Gallen is a Swiss city and the capital of the canton of St. Gallen. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration (with around 167,000 inhabitants in 2019) and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. Its economy consists mainly of the service sector. The city is home to the University of St. Gallen, one of the best business schools in Europe.

The main tourist attraction is the Abbey of Saint Gall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Abbey's renowned library contains books from the 9th century. The official language of St. Gallen is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of Alemannic Swiss German. The city has good transport links to the rest of the country and to neighbouring Germany and Austria. It also functions as the gate to the Appenzellerland (read more).

Japan - Minakami Momoyamanagare

Hot Spring Inn Momoyama Style in Minakami, Gunma, Japan.
Sent by Franco from Minakami, Gunma, Japan.

It was approved and built as a hot spring inn in 1951. Closed in 2004. After about 20 years, the hotel has been renovated by Seagull Resort Innovation, the developer of the Gensen Yuno Yado Matsunoi, while preserving as much of the old-fashioned interior and exterior as possible (read more).

Mali

Mapcard of Mali.

Sent by my friend Jean-Joseph Diarra from Bamako, Mali.

Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over 1,240,192 square kilometres (478,841 sq mi). The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east by Niger, to the northwest by Mauritania, to the south by Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, and to the west by Guinea and Senegal. The population of Mali is about 23.29 million, 47.19% of which are estimated to be under the age of 15 in 2024. Its capital and largest city is Bamako. The country has 13 official languages, of which Bambara is the most commonly spoken (read more).

Bonaire - The Salt Pyramids of Bonaire

The Salt Pyramids of Bonaire

Sent by my friend Strasy from Kralendijk in Bonaire.

One of the most notable features that greet arriving visitors, both by sea and by air, are a distinctive line of white salt pyramids at the southeastern end of the island. Each pyramid, roughly 50-feet high, contains approximately 10,000 metric tons of 99.6% pure salt. Depending on the time of the year, there can be upwards of 200,000 metric tons of salt neatly stacked in long rows awaiting shipment.

The solar salt facility, one of the largest in the Caribbean, is today owned by Cargill, the Minneapolis, Minnesota based private company. The facility covers approximately 13 percent of the island, about 16 square miles of land, on the flat, southeast corner. The entire location is only a few feet above sea level.

The operation utilizes a series of 250-acre condenser ponds. Saltwater drawn directly from the Caribbean, at around 3.5 percent salinity, or from the adjoining brine lake, the Pekelmeer (Dutch for brine lake), at five percent salinity, moves through a succession of condenser ponds where the salinity of the brine is successively increased as the unrelenting sun and wind steadily evaporate the water (read more).

uncancelled stamp.

Sri Lanka - Stream Train / Viceroy Special

SRI LANKA (CEYLON)
Steam Train / Upcountry

Sent by my friend Ravindra from Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka.

The Viceroy Special is a special passenger train service operated by Lakindu & Thathsara (Ceylon) Ltd.^[ Powered by the sole steam locomotive kept in operation in Sri Lanka, it is operated as a private train on all railway lines in the island. The 75-year-old luxury train has two air-conditioned observation saloons and a restaurant car (read more).

Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia - Wuppertal

Greetings from Wuppertal.

Sent by Lily from Wuppertal, Germany.

Wuppertal (German pronunciation: [ˈvʊpɐtaːl] ; lit. 'Wupper Dale') is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and 17th-largest in Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of Elberfeld, Barmen, Ronsdorf, Cronenberg and Vohwinkel, and was initially called "Barmen-Elberfeld" before adopting its present name in 1930. It is the capital and largest city of the Bergisches Land (read more).

Thanks for the stamp of Freddie Mercury