Brazil - Minas Gerais - Grande Hotel e Thermas in Araxá

Araxá, Minas Gerais, Brazil 

Grande Hotel e Thermas

Sent by Denise from Minas Gerais, Brazil.

In its 80 years, the Grande Hotel Termas de Araxá is a perfect expression of neoclassical style with the irreverence of Brazilian art. Built over radioactive and sulphurous thermal springs, it is a refuge that renews itself every year. Offering guests unique experiences that celebrate Minas Gerais cuisine with affection, share stories, and preserve unforgettable beauty.

Inaugurated in 1944, the Grande Hotel Termas de Araxá was founded with the mission of transforming Araxá into one of the main tourist and therapeutic destinations in the country (read more).

Classic Rock Bands - #3 The Rolling Stones

Classic lineup of The Rolling Stones which includes Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts.

Sent by Viktoryia from Seattle in Washington, USA. Thanks to Viktoryia for following my blog. Thanks for the postcard.

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pioneered the gritty, rhythmically driven sound that came to define hard rock. Their first stable line-up consisted of vocalist Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards, multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones, bassist Bill Wyman, and drummer Charlie Watts, after pianist Ian Stewart was side-lined by their manager Andrew Loog Oldham. During their early years, Jones was the primary leader. Oldham encouraged them to write their own songs. The Jagger–Richards partnership soon became the band's primary songwriting and creative force.

Rooted in blues and early rock and roll, the Rolling Stones started out playing cover versions and were at the forefront of the British Invasion in 1964, becoming identified with the youthful counterculture of the 1960s. They then found greater success with their own compositions: "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "Get Off of My Cloud" (both 1965) and "Paint It Black" (1966) became international number-one hits. Aftermath (1966), their first album to be entirely of original material, is often considered to be the most important of their early albums. In 1967, they had the double-sided hit "Ruby Tuesday"/"Let's Spend the Night Together" and experimented with psychedelic rock on Their Satanic Majesties Request. By the end of the 1960s, they had returned to their rhythm and blues-based rock sound, with hit singles "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1968) and "Honky Tonk Women" (1969), and albums Beggars Banquet (1968), featuring "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Street Fighting Man", and Let It Bleed (1969), featuring "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Gimme Shelter" (read more).

My Russia #12 - Winter in Belaya Gora in Perm Krai

In winter in Belaya Gora, Perm Krai.

Sent by Alexey from Vladimir Oblast, Russia.

Belaya Gora is a  village under the administrative jurisdiction of the town of krai significance of Chaykovsky in Perm Krai.

My Russia #11 - Countryside Autumn in Leningrad Oblast

Countryside autumn. Leningrad Oblast.

Sent by Nastya from Russia.

Leningrad Oblast (Russian: Ленинградская область, romanized: Leningradskaya oblastʹ, IPA: [lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ]; Veps: Leningradan agj; Finnish: Leningradin alue) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of 84,500 square kilometres (32,600 sq mi) and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Census. Leningrad Oblast is highly industrialized. Its administrative center and largest city is Gatchina.

The oblast was established on 1 August 1927, although it was not until 1946 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position. The oblast was named after the city of Leningrad. In 1991, the city restored its original name, Saint Petersburg, but the oblast retains the name of Leningrad. It overlaps the historical region of Ingria, and is bordered by Finland (Kymenlaakso and South Karelia) in the northwest and Estonia (Ida-Viru County) in the west, as well as five federal subjects of Russia: the Republic of Karelia in the northeast, Vologda Oblast in the east, Novgorod Oblast in the south, Pskov Oblast in the southwest, and the federal city of Saint Petersburg in the west (read more).

My Russia #10 - Verkhosunye Village in Kirov Oblast

A warm June evening, Verkhosunye village, Kirov region.

Sent by Ekaterina from Lipetsk Oblast, Russia.

Verkhosunye (Верхосунье) is a village or localitywithin the KirovOblast (Region) in Russia, known for its rural landscapes, meadows (even dandelion-filled ones!), and connection to the broader Kirov area, named after Soviet leader Sergei Kirov, located on the Vyatka River, with Yandex Weather showing snow maps for the area. 

My Russia #9 - Brown Bear at Central Forest Reserve, Tver Region

Brown bear in Central Forest Reserve, Tver region.

Sent by Varya from Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Central Forest Nature Reserve (Russian: Центрально-Лесной заповедник) (also, Tsentralno-Lesnoi) is a zapovednik (strict ecological reserve) in the north-west of Russia, located in Andreapolsky and Nelidovsky Districts of Tver Oblast, in the upper course of the Mezha River. It was established on 4 May 1930. The nature reserve is created to protect the conifer forest in the upper course of the Western Dvina River. Since 1985, it is classified as UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (read more).

My Russia #8 - Arkhangelsk From The Train Window

From the train window. Arkhangelsk region.

Sent by Natalia from Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Arkhangelsk Oblast (Russian: Архангельская область, IPA: [ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ]) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, as well as the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea. Arkhangelsk Oblast also has administrative jurisdiction over the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO). Including the NAO, Arkhangelsk Oblast has an area of 587,400 square kilometres (226,800 sq mi), it is the largest of first-level administrative divisions in Europe. Its population (including the NAO) was 1,227,626 as of the 2010 Census.

The city of Arkhangelsk, with a population of 301,199 as of the 2021 Census, is the administrative center of the oblast. The second largest city is the nearby Severodvinsk, home to Sevmash, a major shipyard for the Russian Navy. Among the oldest populated places of the oblast are Kholmogory, Kargopol, and Solvychegodsk; there are a number of Russian Orthodox monasteries, including the Antoniev Siysky Monastery and the World Heritage Site of the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea.

Plesetsk Cosmodrome is one of three spaceports in Russia (the other two are Kapustin Yar in Astrakhan Oblast and Yasny in Orenburg Oblast) (read more).

Russia - Tomsk Oblast - Tatarskaya Street

A residential building at 46 Tatarskaya Street. A typical example of Tomsk wooden architecture from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, this residential building features a developed system of decorativecarving on its facades. The prominent cornice, supported by carved brackets, and the triangular gable play a prominent role in the facade composition.

Sent by Tatyana from Tomsk, Russia.

Tatarskaya street is between Lenin avenue and the embankment of the river Tom. For centuries the Tatars settled in this place, which was then called the Tatar quarter. 

You can see several restored wooden houses with carved window surrounds between Bazaar lane and Trifonov street. They date back to the 19 century. The center of Tatar culture and a mosque is also on Tatarskaya street.

The most beautiful house is on 46, Tatarskaya St. The house built in 1902 belonged to a Tatar А. Moskov, who was engaged in the sale of horses. With symmetric rows of windows and wood-carved roof decor it has a typical appearance for the most wooden houses of Tomsk (read more).

Russia - Tomsk Oblast - Monument Commemorating 50th Anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's Flight

Commemorative site in honor of the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight into space. The descent capsule of the Soyuz spacecraft.

Sent by Tatyana from Tomsk, Russia.

Russia - Moscow - 100th Anniversary of Pushkino

Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the city of Pushkino, in Moscow Oblast, featuring the "Grieving Mother" Memorial Complex.

Sent by Natalia from Moscow, Russia.

Pushkino (Russian: Пу́шкино, Russian pronunciation: [ˈpuʂkʲɪnə]) is a city and the administrative center of Pushkinsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Ucha and Serebryanka Rivers, 30 kilometers (19 mi) northeast of Moscow. Population: 102,874 (2010 census); 72,425 (2002 census); 75,847 (1989 Soviet census); 57,000 (1974); 30,000 (1959); 21,000 (1939).

According to one of the historic versions, the village of Pushkino was first documented in 1499 when it belonged to Grigory Morkhinin, also known as "Pushka"—a boyar whose male-line descendants include Aleksandr Pushkin. A statue of "Pushka" graces one of the town's main squares. During the following centuries, the neighborhood evolved into a favored summer retreat of Russian nobility. Pushkino was granted town status in August 1925 (read more).

Russia - Rostov Oblast - 80th Anniversary in Rostov-on-Don

80th Anniversary of Victory Day in Rostov-on-Don (City of Military Glory)

Sent by Svetlana from Azov in Rostov Oblast, Russia.

Rostov-on-Don, or simply Rostov, is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, 32 kilometers (20 mi) from the Sea of Azov, directly north of the North Caucasus. The southwestern suburbs of the city lie above the Don river delta. Rostov-on-Don has a population of over one million people and is an important cultural, educational, economic and logistical centre of Southern Russia.

From ancient times, the area around the mouth of the Don River has held cultural and commercial importance. Ancient indigenous inhabitants included the Scythian and Sarmatian tribes. It was the site of Tanais, an ancient Greek colony, Fort Tana under the Genoese, and Fort Azak in the time of the Ottoman Empire (read more).

Russia - Saint Petersburg - Old Trinity Cathedral

Trinity Cathedral (Troitsky Cathedral) in Saint Petersburg.

Sent by Valeriia from Moscow Oblast, Russia.

The Trinity Cathedral (Russian: Троицкий собор, Troitsky sobor; Russian: Троице-Измайловский соборTroitse-Izmailovsky sobor), sometimes called the Troitsky Cathedral, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, is a formerly Russian Imperial Army Izmaylovskiy regiment Russian Orthodox church, an architectural landmark - a late example of the Empire style, built between 1828 and 1835 to a design by Vasily Stasov. It is located due south of the Admiralty on Izmaylovskiy Prospekt, not far from the Tekhnologichesky Institut Metro station.

The cathedral, which can accommodate up to 3,000 visitors, has only recently begun to be restored to its pre-Revolutionary splendor after years of neglect. In honor of the victory in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878, when the Russians liberated Bulgaria from the Ottoman domination, a memorial column was constructed in front of the northern facade of the cathedral in 1886. The cathedral became a part of the Saint Petersburg World Heritage Site in 1990 (read more).

Russia - Moscow - Ivan the Great Bell Tower

The Kremlin. The belfry of Ivan the Great.

Sent by Tatyana from Saint Petersburg, Russia.

The Ivan the Great Bell Tower (Russian: Колокольня Иван Великий, romanized: Kolokol'nya Ivan Velikiy) is a church tower inside the Moscow Kremlin complex. With a total height of 81 metres (266 ft), it is the tallest tower and structure of the Kremlin. It was built in 1508 on Cathedral Square for the three Russian Orthodox cathedrals, namely the Assumption (closest to the tower), the Archangel and the Annunciation, which do not have their own belfries. It serves as a part of Moscow Kremlin Museums.

From 1329, Moscow's first stone bell tower stood on this site, affiliated with the Church of St. Ivan of the Ladder-under-the Bell, hence the name "Ivan" in the title. This church was erected by Grand Duke Ivan Kalita, and was one of the first to be built in Moscow out of stone, rather than wood. During Grand Duke Ivan III’s major renovation of the Kremlin, he hired an Italian architect to replace this church. Construction was begun in 1505, the year of Ivan’s death, and was completed three years later under his son Vasily III. Vasilly also ordered that a new and unprecedentedly large tower be erected on the foundations of the old tower as a monument to honour his father (read more).

USA - Alaska - Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park was established in 1980, the 48th among America's National Parks. Located in southeastern Alaska, it looms over the Canadian Yukon border. Wrangell-St. Elias is the largest National Park with 13 million acres, the size of Yellowstone, Yosemite and Switzerland combined! Mt. St. Elias, at 18,008 feet, is the second highest peak in the U.S.  Mt. Wrangell, at 14,163 feet, is one of the largest active volcanoes in Nort America.

Sent by Margaret from Nevada, USA.

Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve is a United States national park and preserve in south central Alaska. The park, the largest in the United States, covers the Wrangell Mountains and a large portion of the Saint Elias Mountains, which include most of the highest peaks in the United States and Canada, yet are within 10 miles (16 km) of tidewater, one of the highest reliefs in the world. The park's high point is Mount Saint Elias at 18,008 feet (5,489 m), the second tallest mountain in both the United States and Canada. The park has been shaped by the competing forces of volcanism and glaciation, with its tall mountains uplifted by plate tectonics. Mount Wrangell and Mount Churchill are among major volcanos in these ranges. The park's glacial features include Malaspina Glacier, the largest piedmont glacier in North America, Hubbard Glacier, the longest tidewater glacier in Alaska, and Nabesna Glacier, the world's longest valley glacier. The Bagley Icefield covers much of the park's interior, which includes 60% of the permanently ice-covered terrain in Alaska. At the center of the park and preserve, the boomtown of Kennecott exploited one of the world's richest deposits of copper from 1903 to 1938. The abandoned mine buildings and mills comprise a National Historic Landmark district (read more).

Poland - Masovian - Warszawa Śródmieście WKD Railway Station

WKD Station.

Sent by Aleksandra from Prague, Czechia.

Warszawa Śródmieście WKD (Polish pronunciation: [ɕrudˈmjɛɕt͡ɕɛ]) is the city terminus of the Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa (WKD) suburban light rail line in Warsaw. It is situated in Aleje Jerozolimskie to the south-west of Warszawa Centralna railway station. The station was opened on 8 December 1963.

The station platform is located below the ground level to the south of the approach tracks to Warszawa Centralna, which can be seen from the platform. The station has an unusual layout and method of operation, with a single long platform alongside the southern (city-bound) track. Inbound trains stop at the west end of the platform to unload passengers, before pulling forward to the east end to allow boarding. Once trains are ready to depart, they do so via a mid-platform cross-over onto the northern track.

The station has no above ground buildings, save for concrete shelters offering some weather protection to the staircases linking the platform to the street. Alternative access is provided via an underground shopping mall, which connects the station to Warszawa Centralna and the street-level tram stops (read more).

China - Pangquangou Nature Reserve

Pangquangou Nature Reserve.

Sent by Wang from Fujian, China.

Located in the central Lüliang Shan mountains. The main ridge in the IBA extends 15 km from north to south, and is 14.5 km wide. The main habitat is temperate deciduous broadleaf forest. The nature reserve was mainly established for the protection of Crossoptilon mantchuricum.

This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas) (read more)

Bicycle (72)

Fafrradausflug (Cycling trip).

Sent by Cardeaux from Oberhausen, Germany.

Thanks for the matching stamp.

Germany - Lower Saxony - St Mary's Cathedral and St Michael's Church at Hildesheim

Historical landmarks in the German city of Hildesheim. Featured landmarks include;  

- the Knochenhauer-Amtshaus (Butchers' Guild Hall), a reconstructed half-timbered building,

- St. Michaelis Church and the Hildensheim Cathedral are both UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Sent by Holger from Hildesheim, Germany.

The ancient Benedictine abbey church of St Michael in Hildesheim, located in the north of Germany, is one of the key monuments of medieval art, built between 1010 and 1022 by Bernward, Bishop of Hildesheim. St Michael’s is one of the rare major constructions in Europe around the turn of the millennium which still conveys a unified impression of artistry, without having undergone any substantial mutilations or critical transformations in basic and detailed structures.

St Michael's Church was built on a symmetrical ground plan with two apses that was characteristic of Ottonian Romanesque art in Old Saxony. Its interior, in particular the wooden ceiling and painted stucco-work, together with the treasures of St Mary's Cathedral – in particular its famous bronze doors and the Bernward bronze column – make the property of exceptional interest as examples of the Romanesque churches of the Holy Roman Empire. The harmony of the interior structure of St Michael’s and its solid exterior is an exceptional achievement in architecture of the period. Of basilical layout with opposed apses, the church is characterised by its symmetrical design: the east and west choirs are each preceded by a transept which protrudes substantially from the side aisles; elegant circular turrets on the axis of the gable of both transept arms contrast with the silhouettes of the massive lantern towers located at the crossing. In the nave, the presence of square impost pillars alternating in an original rhythm with columns having cubic capitals creates a type of elevation which proved very successful in Ottonian and Romanesque art (read more).

Swimwear #19

Featuring a woman in a white swimsuit and yellow hat, a vintage-style travel poster promoting the North Sea resort town of Nordeney, an island in Germany.

Sent by Nicole from Minnesota, USA. 

Coca Cola Ad Card (12)

COCA COLA, COKE, the Contour Bottle Design, and the Dynamic Ribbon Device are the trademarks of The Coca Cola Company.

Sent by Hoyoon from Seoul, South Korea.