USA - Wildlife In Southwestern Desert

WILDLIFE IN SOUTHWESTERN DESERT.

Sent by Yajaira from New Mexico, USA.

The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. The largest cities by metropolitan area are Phoenix, Las Vegas, El Paso, Albuquerque, and Tucson. Before 1848, in the historical region of Santa Fe de Nuevo México as well as parts of Alta California and Coahuila y Tejas, settlement was almost non-existent outside of New Mexico's pueblos and Spanish or Mexican municipalities. Much of the area had been a part of New Spain and Mexico until the United States acquired the area through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 and the smaller Gadsden Purchase in 1854 (read more).

Bicycle (53)

Sent by Sinisitikas from Estonia.

Bicycle (52)

Sent by Martina from Hamburg, Germany.

Bicycles (51)

Which two bikes have a flat tire?

Sent by Gabriele from Leverkusen, Germany.

Swimwear #11 - Boomerang Beach Pacific Palms

Boomerang Beach Pacific Palms, NSW, Australia.

Sent by Jeroen from Nijmegen, Netherlands.

USA - California - Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary

ALCATRAZ ISLAND SAN FRANCISCO BAY
Once a federal prison for notorious crriminals, the island is now part of the National Park System, and can be visited on tours leaving from Fisherman's Wharf.

Sent by Hannah from Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, also known simply as Alcatraz (English: /ˈælkəˌtræz/, Spanish: [alkaˈtɾas] "the gannet") or the Rock, was a maximum security federal prison on Alcatraz Island, 1.25 miles (2.01 km) off the coast of San Francisco, California, United States. The site of a fort since the 1850s, the main prison building was built in 1910–12 as a U.S. Army military prison.

The United States Department of Justice acquired the United States Disciplinary Barracks, Pacific Branch, on Alcatraz on October 12, 1933. The island became adapted and used as a prison of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in August 1934 after the buildings were modernized and security increased. Given this high security and the island's location in the cold waters and strong currents of San Francisco Bay, prison operators believed Alcatraz to be escape-proof and America's most secure prison (read more).

India - Andaman and Nicobar Islands - Havelock Island

These are few postcards left from my early this year trip to Havelock Island which is part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India.

All blank unaddressed postcards are internationally stamped and cancelled on 2nd January 2025, at the Post Office in the island. If you are interested, the postcard will then be mailed inside an envelope.

Five (5) pieces of blank postcards.

front

back

POSTCARD 1

front

back

POSTCARD 2

front

back

POSTCARD 3

front

back

POSTCARD 4

front

back

POST OFFICE IN HAVELOCK ISLANDS

Japan - Hokanji Temple

Yasaka Pagoda is a landmark located in the Gion neigborhood. Its official name is Hokanji Temple, and the current five-storied pagoda was built in 1440.

Sent by Yumi from Fukuoka, Japan. 

The Yasaka Pagoda (Japanese: 八坂の塔, romanized: Yasaka-no-to), also known as the Tower of Yasaka, is a Buddhist pagoda located in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The 5-story tall pagoda is the last remaining structure of a 6th-century temple complex known as Hōkan-ji (法観寺). The pagoda is now a tourist attraction.

Archaeological evidence dates the foundation of the Yasaka Pagoda to the 7th Century. The founding date is disputed between the reign of Prince Shotoku and the sixth year of the Tenmu period (678 CE). The pagoda and the associated temple were destroyed and reconstructed several times up to 1440, of which the current pagoda stands to this day.
Control of the pagoda was historically disputed between the nearby Shinto Gion Shrine and the Buddhist temple of Kiyomizu-dera, to the point the pagoda was burnt down in May of 1179. It was later rebuilt in 1191 with funding from Kawachi Genji noble Minamoto no Yoritomo. In 1240, the head priest of the nearby Buddhist temple of Kennin-ji affiliated the pagoda with Zen Buddhism, which remains the official designation of the Yasaka Pagoda to the present day (read more).

Peru - City of Cuzco

PERU 

Cusco Main Square

Sent by Hotel Novotel Cusco, Cusco, Peru. Thank you very much.

Tripadvisor Reviews :  Hotel Novotel Cusco.

The City of Cuzco, at 3,400 m above sea level, is located in a fertile alluvial valley fed by several rivers in the heart of the Central Peruvian Andes of South America. Under the rule of Inca Pachacuteq (Tito Cusi Inca Yupanqui), in the 15th century, the city was redesigned and remodelled after a pre-Inca occupation process of over 3,000 years, and became the capital of the Tawantinsuyu Inca Empire, which covered much of the South American Andes between the 15th and 16th centuries AD.

The Imperial city of the Incas was developed as a complex urban centre with distinct religious and administrative functions which were perfectly defined, distributed and organized. The religious and government buildings were accompanied by the exclusive abodes for royal families, forming an unprecedented symbolic urban compound, which shows a stone construction technology with exceptional aesthetic and structural properties, such as the Temple of the Sun or Qoricancha, the Aqllahuasi, the Sunturcancha, the Kusicancha and a series of very finely finished buildings that shape the Inca compound as an indivisible unity of Inca urbanism. The noble city was clearly isolated from the clearly delineated areas for agricultural, artisan and industrial production as well as from the surrounding neighbourhoods. The pre-Hispanic patterns and buildings that shaped the Imperial city of the Incas are visible today (read more).

Vatican City - Saint Peter's Basilica (3)

Saint Peter's Basilica.

My friend Roberto sent the same postcard as in the previous, but this time with different stamps. Thanks Roberto.

China - Splendid G20 Members - Kruger National Park

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH AFRICA

Sent by Wang Jian fron Nanning, China.

The G20 Summit in 2016 was held on September 4th and 5th in Hangzhou, China. The theme of the Summit is to build an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusivve global economy (read more).

Russia - Saint Petersburg - Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments

THE CATHERINE PALACE INTERIORS

A bird's-eye view of the Catherine Palace.

Sent by Kate from Cherepovets in Vologda Oblast, Russia.

The 'Venice of the North', with its numerous canals and more than 400 bridges, is the result of a vast urban project begun in 1703 under Peter the Great. Later known as Leningrad (in the former USSR), the city is closely associated with the October Revolution. Its architectural heritage reconciles the very different Baroque and pure neoclassical styles, as can be seen in the Admiralty, the Winter Palace, the Marble Palace and the Hermitage (read more).

Gypsy Jazz Festival : 24-27 April 2025 A Flashback Habitat

Gypsy Jazz Festival : 24-27 April 2025 A Flashback Habitat

Sent by Marina from Torino, Italy.

There's a new jazz festival in town, from April 24 to 27, 2025: Gypsy Jazz Festival from April 24 to 27 at Flashback Habitat. Considered one of the pioneers of 𝘫𝘢𝘻𝘻 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦, from April 24 to 27 the musical genius of Django Reinhardt will live again amidst the art of #FlashbackHabitat for four unmissable events and interpretations of the genre - between improvisation, gypsy sounds and scratchy sound. Here is the complete line-up of the festival: April 24 - Hot Club and Turin, the project of five young musicians who rework in an innovative way the manouche sounds à la manière de Django; April 25 - 20 Strings, from the study of the style of the great Django Reinhardt, the repertoire of the 20 Strings focuses on the recordings that the musician made in the second half of the 40s; April 26 - Anouman Quartet, with the refined sound of the quartet has as a point of reference the repertoire of Django from the early 50s; April 27 - Distilleria Manouche, an ensemble of talented musicians who interpret classic pieces from the swing and jazz repertoire of the 30s & 40s (read more).

Canada - Alberta - Athabasca Falls

ATHABASCA FALLS

JASPER NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA, CANADA

Athabasca Falls 32 kilometers (50 miles) south of the town of Jasper, thunders through a narrow gorge in a torrent of tumbling water.

Sent by Vasilisa from Edmonton in ALberta, Canada.

Athabasca Falls is a waterfall in Jasper National Park on the upper Athabasca River, approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of the townsite of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, and just west of the Icefields Parkway (read more).

Germany - Bavaria - Town of Bamberg

Bamberg Little Venice.

Sent by Kerstin from Bavaria, Germany.

From the 10th century onwards, this town became an important link with the Slav peoples, especially those of Poland and Pomerania. During its period of greatest prosperity, from the 12th century onwards, the architecture of Bamberg strongly influenced northern Germany and Hungary. In the late 18th century it was the centre of the Enlightenment in southern Germany, with eminent philosophers and writers such as Hegel and Hoffmann living there (read more).

Germany - North Rhine Westphalia - Cologne (2)

Greetings From Cologne.

Rhine boat trip against the backdrop of Cologne's old town.

Sent by Katharina from Hilden, Germany.

My oher Greetings from Cologne postcard is here.

USA - Bald Eagle (2)

National Audubon Society

Our national symbol, the Bald eagle.

Protected by the Endangered Species Act, the majestic Bald eagle has made a spectcular comeback from the brink of extinction.

Sent by Renée from Austin in Texas, USA.

My first postcard of Bald eagle is here.

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).