Spain - Catalonia - Casa Milà (La Pedrera)

LA PEDRERA (1906 - 1912). ANTONI GAUDI.

Sent by Juan Carlos from Barcelona, Spain.

Casa Milà (Catalan: [ˈkazə miˈla], Spanish: [ˈkasa miˈla]), popularly known as La Pedrera (Catalan: [lə pəˈðɾeɾə], Spanish: [la peˈðɾeɾa]; "the stone quarry") in reference to its unconventional rough-hewn appearance, is a Modernista building in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was the last private residence designed by architect Antoni Gaudí and was built between 1906 and 1912.

The building was commissioned in 1906 by Pere Milà [ca; es] and his wife Roser Segimon. At the time, it was controversial because of its undulating stone facade, twisting wrought iron balconies, and design by Josep Maria Jujol. Several structural innovations include a self-supporting stone façade, and a free-plan floor, underground garage and the spectacular terrace on the roof.

In 1984, it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Since 2013 it has been the headquarters of the Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera, which manages visits to the building, exhibitions and other cultural and educational activities at Casa Milà (read more).

India - Tamil Nadu - Nagapattinam Head Post Office

Nagapattinam Head Post Office

A heritage building constructed by Dutch rulers as a recreation hall in 1857. The Head Post Office is functioning from 1933.

Sent by V. Adith from Tamil Nadu, India.

Finland - South Ostrobothnia - Seinäjoki City/Town Hall

FINLAND

Seinäjoki

The Town Hall (Architect : Alvar Aalto)

Sent by Matti from Seinäjoki, Finland.

The Seinäjoki City Hall is the main municipal administrative building in the city of Seinäjoki, Finland. It is notable for having been designed by the renowned Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.

The building is based on Aalto's 1959 winning entry into a design contest for the new Seinäjoki urban plan, and was completed three years later in 1962. It was comprehensively renovated in the 2010s, with the work finished in 2018.

The exterior cladding of the main facade features dark blue ceramic tiles which appear to change colour under different lighting conditions.

The city council assembly hall was designed to serve a dual purpose as a concert venue (read more).

Belgium - Brussels - Flower Carpet

BRUSSELS

Market Place, Flower Carpet.

Sent by Ken from Germany.

The Flower Carpet (French: Tapis de Fleurs; Dutch: Bloementapijt) is a biennial event in Brussels in which volunteers from around Belgium convene at the Grand-Place/Grote Markt, the historic centre of the city, to weave a carpet-like tapestry out of colourful begonias or dahlias. The event takes place every other August, coordinating with Assumption Day, and lasts for three to four days. A different theme is chosen for each edition.

The first Flower Carpet was created in Brussels in 1971 by the Ghent landscape architect Etienne Stautemans in an effort to advertise his work, and due to its popularity, the tradition continued in subsequent years. The non-profit association Tapis de Fleurs de Bruxelles was then created at the initiative of the College of Mayors and Aldermen of the City of Brussels in cooperation with the Province of Brabant and Les Franc-Bourgeois (a central Brussels traders' association). The new association laid down the regulations: the event was to be held every two years, for three to four days on the weekend of 15 August, and could be enhanced by sound and lighting, fireworks, a jazz concert and other traditional folk entertainments (read more).

Malaysia - Johor - Johor River Bridge

Johor River Bridge.

Sent by Zain from Selangor, Malaysia.

The Sungai Johor Bridge (Malay: Jambatan Sungai Johor; Jawi: جمبتن سوڠاي جوهر) is an expressway bridge across Johor River on Senai–Desaru Expressway in Johor, Malaysia. The 1.7 km (1,708 m) single plane cable stayed bridge connects Pulau Juling in Johor Bahru District in the west to Tanjung Penyabong in Kota Tinggi District in the east. Opened on 10 June 2011, it has the longest central span of any river bridge in Malaysia, followed by Batang Sadong Bridge in Sarawak. The bridge is also the longest single plane cable-stayed bridge in Malaysia.

Construction officially began in 2005. Construction was led by Senai Desaru Expressway Berhad with a main contractor Ranhill Engineers & Constructors Sdn Bhd. The bridge was to have been completed by December 2008, but opening of the bridge was repeatedly delayed, opening together with the 2nd phase of the expressway on 10 June 2011 (read more).

North Korea - Monument to the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War

Monument to the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War, located in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Sent by Margaret from Nevada, USA. She bought this postcard in May 2015 as she was part of the delegation to North Korea.

The Monument to the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War is an outdoor monument in Pyongyang, North Korea. The monument is outside of the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum. The monument itself is a series of statues depicting soldiers of the various branches of the Korean People's Army. The central statue of the collection is known as the Victory Statue and it depicts a soldier of the KPA raising the flag of North Korea. The monument was completed in 1993 to mark the 40th anniversary of the end of the Korean War (or the "Fatherland Liberation War", as it is referred to in North Korea). This includes side monuments titled "Defenders of Altitude 1211", "Liberated south Korea", "Heroes of Wolmido", "Moving the Artillery Gun Up", Peoples' Reinforcement Frontline", "Defenders of Airspace of the Fatherland", War of Liberation of Taejon", Defenders of the Fatherland's Maritime", "Battle of Nakdong River", and "Combat of the Peoples' Guerllia Force". Moored on a nearby bank of the Taedong River is the captured United States Navy spy ship the USS Pueblo (read more).

United Kingdom - England - The Tuck Shop at Church Street

Church Street, now Mare Street.

(The Tuck Shop).

Sent by Bev from London, England.

My Russia #7 - Mikhail Lermontov Monument

On the Red Sun Mountain. The monument to the poet Mikhail Lermontov looks at Mount Elbrus. Kislovodsk, Stavropol Krai.

Sent by Nargul from Samara Oblast, Russia.

China - Chongqing - City of Bridges

Bridge scene in Chongqing, China with the sun silhouetted behind the structure of a large bridge.

Sent by Jennie from Chongqing, China.

Chongqing is a mountain megacity, it is also a city on rivers. Therefore, bridges are everywhere. As of now, the city occupies over 4,500 bridges. In 2005, Bridge Committee of Mao Yi-sheng Science and Technology Education Foundation recognized it as the only “the City of Bridges” in China.

Chongqing has a mass of ancient bridges with a long history, more than numerous modern bridges that are majestic and built with superb and diversified construction technologies. It is reported that nearly 800 ancient bridges are scattered across the city, and there are 17 Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the Provincial Level ascribed to their long history, complicated construction technologies or grand scale (read more).

Russia - Saint Petersburg - Tauride Palace

Tauride Palace.

Architect I.E. Starov.

1782 - 1790.

Sent by Reinhold from Hamburg, Germany.

Tauride Palace (Russian: Таврический дворец, romanized: Tavrichesky dvorets) is one of the largest and most historically important palaces in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Prince Grigory Potemkin of Tauride commissioned his favourite architect, Ivan Starov, to design his city residence in a rigorous Palladian style. Starov's design called for an extensive park, later the Tauride Garden, and harbour in front of the palace, which would be linked with the Neva River by a canal. Building work began in 1783 and lasted for six years. The 13-bay front of the palace has a Tuscan portico and is topped by a shallow dome. A square vestibule leads to an octagonal hall, with the huge "Catherine Hall" beyond. This had eighteen Ionic Greek columns on either side and opens into a large, enclosed winter garden with a central circular colonnade. Considered the grandest nobleman's residence of 18th-century Russia, Tauride Palace served as a model for innumerable manors scattered across the Russian Empire (read more).

My Russia #6 - Mount Elbrus, Kabardino-Balkaria

View of Mount Elbrus. Kabardino-Balkaria.

Sent by Irina from Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

Mount Elbrus is the highest mountain in Russia and Europe. It is a dormant stratovolcano rising 5,642 m (18,510 ft) above sea level, and is the highest volcano in Eurasia, as well as the tenth-most prominent peak in the world. It is situated in the southern Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria in the western extension of Ciscaucasia, and is the highest peak of the Caucasus Mountains.

Elbrus has two summits, both of which are dormant volcanic domes. The taller, western summit is 5,642 metres (18,510 ft); the eastern summit is 5,621 metres (18,442 ft). The earliest recorded ascent of the eastern summit was on 10 July 1829 by a Circassian man named Khillar Khashirov, and the western summit in 1874 by a British expedition led by F. Crauford Grove and including Frederick Gardiner, Horace Walker and the Swiss guide Peter Knubel (read more). 

My Russia #5 - Church of Elijah the Prophet

Church of Elijah the Prophet, Yaroslav.

Sent by Galina from Vladivostok, Russia.

One of the richest historic towns on the Volga River is Yaroslavl, located about 130 miles northeast of Moscow. Now an industrial center with some 650,000 inhabitants, Yaroslavl has a remarkable concentration of church art and architecture from the 16th through the 19th centuries. Each year thousands visit the city on river cruises or by land from Moscow. They all see at least one of the city’s magnificent 17th-century monuments—the Church of Elijah the Prophet, located at the very center of town. The Elijah Church is the consummate example of art sponsored by the city’s flourishing commercial environment (read more).

USA - Colorado - Fern Lake

Little Matterhorn and Notch-Top from Fern Lake (Elev. 9,550 ft), Rocky Mountains National Park, Colorado.

Fern Lake is reached by horseback trail from either Bear Lake or Moraine Park.

High peaks rear themselves above three clad slopes to offer many beautiful vistas.

Sent Matt from Virginia, USA.

Fern Lake Trail takes you to a scenic mountain lake accessed from the Moraine Park area on the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park. The trail follows the Big Thompson River, offering great views of Fern Falls, Notchtop Mountain, and the Little Matterhorn from Fern Lake's north side (read more).

Bulgaria - Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari

Sboryanovo, Bulgaria

Municipality of Isperih, the historical-archaeological Reserve "Sboryanovo". A Thracian King's vault (4th-3rd B.C.). A monument of the world's cultural-historical heritage.

Sent by Nelly from Sofia, Bulgaria.

Discovered in 1982 near the village of Sveshtari, this 3rd-century BC Thracian tomb reflects the fundamental structural principles of Thracian cult buildings. The tomb has a unique architectural decor, with polychrome half-human, half-plant caryatids and painted murals. The 10 female figures carved in high relief on the walls of the central chamber and the decoration of the lunette in its vault are the only examples of this type found so far in the Thracian lands. It is a remarkable reminder of the culture of the Getes, a Thracian people who were in contact with the Hellenistic and Hyperborean worlds, according to ancient geographers.

The Thracian Tomb near Sveshtari is an extremely rare and very well preserved monument of the sepulchral architecture containing remarkable elements in terms of their quality and style sculpture and painting. The Tomb is also remarkable for the fact that it represents local art, inspired by Hellenism, a rare case of an interrupted creative process which possesses specific characteristics (read more).

Bulgaria - Boyana Church

BULGARIA - SOFIA

Boyana Church St. Nicholas and St. Panteleimon

1. Exterior of the church;

2. Tsaritsa Irina, wall painting, 1259; and

3. Interior of the church.

Sent Zenny from Sofia, Bulgaria.

Located on the outskirts of Sofia, Boyana Church consists of three buildings. The eastern church was built in the 10th century, then enlarged at the beginning of the 13th century by Sebastocrator Kaloyan, who ordered a second two storey building to be erected next to it. The frescoes in this second church, painted in 1259, make it one of the most important collections of medieval paintings. The ensemble is completed by a third church, built at the beginning of the 19th century. This site is one of the most complete and perfectly preserved monuments of east European medieval art.

There are several layers of wall paintings in the interior from the 11th, 13th, 15-17th and 19th centuries which testify to the high level of wall painting during the different periods. The paintings with the most outstanding artistic value are those from 13th century. Whilst they interpret the Byzantine canon, the images have a special spiritual expressiveness and vitality and are painted in harmonious proportions (read more).

Slovakia - Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the Carpathian Mountain Area

Ladomirová

The wooden church of St. Michael the Archangel with a bell tower from 1742 was built without a single nail. It has been a national cultural monument since 1968 and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 8 July 2008.

Sent by Julia from Hokovce, Slovakia.

The wooden churches of the Slovak part of Carpathian Mountain Area, illustrate the coexistence of different religious faiths within a small territory of central Europe. The series of eight properties includes Roman Catholic, Protestant and Greek Orthodox churches that were built between the 16th and 18th centuries, most of them in quite isolated villages, using wood as the main material and traditional construction techniques. Within the framework of their common features, the churches exhibit some typological variations, in accordance with the correspondent faith, expressed in their plans, interior spaces and external appearance. The churches also bear testimony to the development of major architectural and artistic trends during the period of construction and its interpretation and adaptation to a specific geographical and cultural context. Interiors are decorated with wall and ceiling paintings and works of art that enrich the cultural significance of the properties (read more).

Elektro-Schnellzuglokomotive 103 101-2

Electric Express Locomotive 103 101-2 of the German Federal Railway, as LH 1025 (Stuttgart - Frankfurt/Main - Frankfurt Airport) on April 21, 1993 in Weinheim/Bergstrasse.

Route : Heidelberg - Darmstadt - Frankfurt/Main

Locomotive factory Krauss-Maffei/Munich 1970, works no 19461

Electrical equipment : Siemens/Erlangen

Sent by Matthias from Saxony, Germany.

The Baureihe 103 is a class of electric locomotives in Germany, originally operated by Deutsche Bundesbahn. For a long period, they were perceived as flagships of the DB rolling stock.

In addition to the usual Sifa and PZB, Class 103 was also equipped with the LZB as an additional train safety system for speed in excess of 160 km/h (99 mph). The so-called Automatische Fahr- und Bremssteuerung (AFB) (automatic speed and brake control) automatically kept the train's speed constant at any chosen speed (read more).

China - Liaoning/Jilin/Heilongjiang - Harbin–Suifenhe Railway

The international train from Grodekovo to Suifenhe which serviced by Russian Railway is running in the border section in Harbin-Suifenhe Railway. Because of the different railway gauge between China and Russia, four rails constitute a special sight.

Sent by Weining from Shanghai, China.

The Trans-Siberian Harbin–Suifenhe railway, named the Binsui Railway (simplified Chinese: 滨绥铁路; traditional Chinese: 濱綏鐵路; pinyin: bīnsuí tiělù), is a double-track electrified trunk railway in Northeast China between Harbin and Suifenhe on the Russian border. The line was originally built by Russia as the eastern branch of the Chinese Eastern Railway, which linked Chita with Vladivostok. Today, the 548 km (341 mi) railway is administered by Harbin Railway Bureau.

Initial construction of the Binsui Railway as a Russian gauge line of the Sino-Russian Chinese Eastern Railway started on 9 June 1898 at the two termini of the line, Harbin in China and Ussuriysk in Russia. The partially built line was destroyed during the Boxer Rebellion between March and July 1900, causing the project to be suspended. Construction resumed in October, and on 14 November 1901 operation on a temporary basis was started. Official opening of the line took place on 14 July 1903 (read more).

Hong Kong - Night View From The Peak

Night View From The Peak

Sent by Henning from Hong Kong.

China - Anhui Province - Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and Hongcun

Qiankou Dwellings (Ming Dynasty) / Huangshan City

Anhui Dwellings

Sent by Ting from Shenyang, China.

Xidi and Hongcun are two outstanding traditional villages, located in Yi County, Huangshan City in south Anhui Province, with commercial activities as their primary source of income, family and clan-based social organization, and well known for their regional culture. The overall layout, landscape, architectural form, decoration, and construction techniques all retain the original features of Anhui villages between the 14th and 20th centuries.

Deeply influenced by the traditional culture of pre-modern Anhui Province, these two villages, Xidi and Hongcun, were built by successful officials or merchants returning home from official appointments and business, and gradually developed into models of conventional Chinese village construction. Xidi is surrounded by mountains and built along and between three streams running east-west, which converge at the Huiyuan Bridge to the south. Hongcun is located at the foot of a hill next to a stream which forms two pools, the Moon Pond in the centre of the village and the other to the south. Characterised by rhythmic space variation and tranquil alleyways; and with water originating from a picturesque garden, the whole reflects the pursuit of coexistence, unity and the harmony of man and nature. The unique and exquisite style of Anhui buildings is conveyed in plain and elegant colors, their gables decorated with delicate and elegant carvings, their interiors filled with tasteful furnishings. The rigid patriarchal system together with gentle and sincere folk customs reflects the cultural ideas of scholar-bureaucrats in feudal society who paid special respect to Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism. These surviving villages bear scientific, cultural and aesthetic values with their 600-plus-year history. They are rich sources for the study of regional histories and cultures (read more).

Malaysia - Federal Territory (Kuala Lumpur) - Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan

Wilayah Persekutuan Mosque (Federal Territory Mosque)

Sent by Mahani from Selangor, Malaysia.

The Federal Territory Mosque (Malay: Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan) is a Sunni mosque, located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The mosque is situated near MATRADE complex and the Federal Government Complex off Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim, in the Segambut district.

The Kuala Lumpur Mosque was constructed between 1998 and 2000. It is situated on a 5-hectare (12-acre) site near the Government Office Complex along Jalan Duta. The Wilayah Persekutuan (Federal Territory) Mosque was opened to the public on 25 October 2000 and was officiated by the 12th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin ibni Almarhum Syed Putra Jamalulail on 18 February 2005. It is the 44th mosque built by the Government within the city limits. The mosque can accommodate 17,000 worshippers at any one time (read more).

150 Years of Universal Postal Union (UPU) - Latvia Post (Latvijas Pasts)

Sent by Olga from Latvia.

Postcrossing Meetup #18 - Point Roberts, Washington

Point Roberts, Washington, USA.

Pene-exclave community.

9th August 2025

Sent by Alisa from Oregon, USA.

Point Roberts is a pene-exclave of the US state of Washington on the southernmost tip of the Tsawwassen peninsula, south of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The area, which had a population of 1,191 at the 2020 census, is reached from the rest of the United States by traveling 25 mi (40 km) through Canada, or without passing through Canada by boat or private airplane. It is a census-designated place in Whatcom County, Washington, with a post office, and a ZIP Code of 98281. Direct sea and air connections with the rest of the U.S. are available across Boundary Bay (read more).