Edersee, Germany

From Wikipedia: The Edersee is a large reservoir created by the construction, from 1908 to 1914, of a rock and concrete dam across the Eder river, near the small town of Waldeck in northern Hesse, Germany, to generate hydropower and regulate water levels for shipping on the Weser river. It lies at the northern edge of the Kellerwald.
Another card I received through "Your Hometown" RR, another interesting place I have never heard about. Michelle was sweet to write about the history of this area: "That's the Valley where I live. It's a famous area with many tourists. The reservoir was built in 1908-1914 and destroyed in 1943 (*Operation Chastise, by special bombs dropped from British Bomber plane*). The water destroyed many villages and killed many people. But it was rebuilt and today, it's a very nice place. There are many castles in this area which are great to visit. There lived princes from 1137 until 1692. I love this area!"

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Wezep, the Netherlands

Another card from a small town, this time in the Netherlands. It came by the way of June Round Robin, from Wim. He writes,"Wezep is a little village of 13,500 inhabitants. You can see two farm houses, a mansion, a church, and our very nice swimming pool." Looks like a nice place to live!

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A tranquil Setting

This card arrived through "Your Hometown" Round Robin from Morris, Connecticut. Morris is a small town with population of ~2400 people. They are celebrating 150th anniversary of their town this year! Congratulations! I'm sure such a small town doesn't print many postcards. :) So, the nature view is an appropriate card. There are no views of the town on Google Maps, either.

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Hainan Island, China

Here is another card from China received through China X Other Countries Round Robin. My sender, Yibua, says: "Many greetings from Hainan Island, China. My hometown is the most Southern place in China, surrounded by sea. Summer is all year around!" Unfortunately, I don't know what the significance of this house is. It looks like an appartment building, almost. :) On the card, the discription reads, The Diaojiao House at the Sunxi River Bank.
I liked the stamps:


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Hongkou Stadium, Shanghai, China

A nice large card arrived from China as a part of "Your hometown" Round Robin, from Feiyi. She writes, "This is a card of Hongkou football stadium, and I just live in the building behind the stadium. Near it is a park called Luxun Park. The famous Chinese writer Lu-xun's grave lies in it. This area used to be controlled by Japanese, so a lot of Japanese style buildings can be found." Very wonderful to receive such a card and have a little story behind it! I am reading "The Shanghai Girls" by Lisa See right now, so it is amazing to see what modern Shanghai looks like! The book is amazing, too!

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Datça, Turkey

"Datça pronounced Datcha, is the name of the ~80 Km long peninsula National Reserve between Aegean and the Mediterranean seas and also the administrative town center of the peninsula," says the internet. :) Of course, I have never heard of this wonderful place that looks so alluring! I would love to go yachting and exploring there...
Received this card through June Round Robin from Huruldur. Thank you for a wonderful glimse of your country. A beautiful stamp needs to be included!

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Native Animals RR #2

Second half of the Native Animals Round Robin has arrived! It is 2 postcards, both are so pretty! The Chinese postcard arrived from Feiyi and is called "My happy life". "During a typical day a giant panda spends 60%of the time awake during which most of their time is spent eating bamboo," reads the discription.

Another card arrived from Russia, from strix-ru of St. Petersburg. This is a one handsome looking squirrel! LOL It looks very much like I used to imagining squirrels when growing up (we didn't have that many of them in my city). The ones here in the US are very different. They are not quite that pretty orange-brown color but rather grey. Alexandra also included the fitting stamps:

Postcard Friendship Friday - Native American Art

Postcard Friendship Friday
My Postcard Friendship Friday contribution is going to be the Native American Art postcards. I bought them at the National Cowbay and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. If you ever go to Oklahoma, make sure you visit this museum! They have a very large and unique collection of art works, paintings, artifacts, etc dedicated to the Native American and Cowboy cultures. Very interesting!"THE DRUMMERS" by James Auchiah, 1906-1974, Tempera on Paper, 1931, from the collection of the museum. "KIOWA AND COMANCHE" by Monroe Tsatoke, 1904-1937, Watercolor on Paper, 1933.

I thought this card would fit my theme. :) There are many more Indian tribes that were forced to relocate to Oklahoma territory and start a new and opressed life there. There is a huge outdoor town dedicated to them in the south-eastern part of the state, called Indian City Anadarko, USA. Another interesting place to visit in Oklahoma.

Russia - UNESCO

This beautiful card came form Olya (ikkyo) through a private swap. It is one of the Russian World Heritage sites of nature - the Golden Mountains of Altai, Katunsky Reserve. UNESCO site says the following: "Katunsky Biosphere Reserve is located close to the borders with Kazakhstan and China. It encompasses a mosaic of 14 ecosystems, from mountain tundra to forest-steppe vegetation. Twelve plant species are included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation (1988), including fawn lily (Erythronium sibiricum), peony (Paeonia hybrida) and spleenwort (Asplenium exiguum). The snow leopard (Uncia uncia) occasionally enters the biosphere reserve."
When I was younger and lived in Russia, we always dreamed of going hiking in Altai. It supposed to have many interesting ancient sites, old burial places, very beautiful, breath-taking vistas and an ingenious people, called altaitsy. I don't know if I would ever be able to go there, but I am glad I have this postcard. :) Altai was called "Russian Shangri-La" because of the mysterious spirit and the natural beauty of the mountains and lakes.

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Russia

2 New beautiful cards from Russia. One is of Novodevichiy Monastery (it means New-girls Convent - a fitting name for a women's monastery?) in Moscow. My sender, Margarita-Mardji writes: "It was founded in 1524 as ordered by Grand Prince Basil III. It was built as a fortress at the bend of the Moscow River. The architectural ansemble of the monastery comprises the fortress walls, Smolensk Cathedral, a refectory, the residential, household and church premises, dated to the end of the 17th century." Oh, the beautiful onions domes! I do miss seeing them! It looks very beautiful and fully restored. When I was there so long time ago, the monastery didn't exist, but one little chapel. There is a large cemetery grounds by this moanstery where a lot of famous and important Russians are buried. It used to be more of a museum than a church back then.

This beautiful card came from the city of Ufa, the capital of Bashkor-tostan (Башкортостан). It is an autonomic republic within Russia, located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. Bashkirs are people with their own language, culture and religion. Some of them are the followers of Islam, some are Orthodox Christians. My uncle lived and worked on the railroad there, and his family is still in Ufa. So, it was very nice to see this beautiful Orthodox church on the postcard. This is the Cathedral of the Birthday of God's Mother, a very Orthodox looking chapel.

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June RR - Utah and Louisiana

I am continuing to receive the cards through June Round Robin. There is 31 participants from all over the world right now, so I am hoping for some very unique cards from far away places! Here are the ones I received this week. First is a night view of Salt Lake City. Beautiful! Would love to visit Utah, especially to see the Mormon Temple and to go skiing! I love going on vacations and always try to find interesting and educating places to visit. I would do a big research before going to Salt Lake City. There is a lot of history there. I did read a few books about the Mormon religion and it seems so different to me, who grew up with the religion of atheism and later, became a Christian.

Another card is from New Orleans, Louisiana. Nikinna collects fleur de lis's and send me one. :) It is a fitting symbol of her city.

Diddle #1

And the last cartoon card for this week is a Diddle card. I don't know much about Diddle. :( All I know is it is a cute mouse, and there are wonderful stationery products, pens, pencils, keychains we all like around here. :) I received this card through the Diddle tag.

Moomins #3

And to folow along, we received our third Moomins card. It is very sweet card that has Moomins designs on the back. The card reads: "Life works in cooperation! The friends pick some snack for each other!" And the sender (AKS) was so sweet to put on a stamp with Moomin! So cuuute! Thank you! I received it through the June RR.

Moomins ##1 and 2

I am so happy that we were able to receive two cards with Moomins!! They are called "Moomie-trolls" in my country. I think all of the books are translated and I used to read them and watch cartoons. I really love them! I am surprised that Disney have not picked up on Moomins or Karlsson! They were so popular in my childhood! My daughters and I are trying to start a Moomins' collection. SO, if you have any cards for trade, we would be very happy to trade any of ours with you!

Here is smart and wise Moomi-Mama!

A F e s t i v a l o f P o s t c a r d s

A F e s t i v a l o f P o s t c a r d s is "a blog carnival that celebrates vintage and modern postcards". It looks like a great online festival to participate in celebration of our hobby! This month's theme is "Main Street". Luckily, I have a postcard that relates to this theme in a nice way, so I CAN participate this month! You can look on their website for submission rules and take part of this fun event!

Here is my entry card, which I have had for about 11 years. It was a postcard that I received through one of the very first Yahoo postcard swap group that was called "Faithfully Yours". Wonder if any of those girls are still around and maybe, part of postcrossing? My card is from the Main Street of Disney World in Florida! Mickey and Minnie are riding on a float welcoming guests to the Main Street Parade.

Postcard Scavenger Hunt #4 - Handicrafts

Unfortunately, I don't have many cards with handicrafts. The ones I saw online are all so beautiful, I hope I will get some eventually. :) I received this one today. It is the Chinese Bronze pieces from 3000 years ago! I hope they qualify for the handicrafts, although the card doesn't show people making them. It is also my first postcard from China. it came from Silencelee from Beijing. The stamps are also very special.



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I think these pieces are just called the artifacts or tripods (?). :) The postcard was written in Chinese, so I don't know more. Here is a bit from wikipedia on Chinese Bronze: "The Chinese bronze artifacts generally are either utilitarian, like spear points or adze heads, or ritualistic, like the numerous large sacrificial tripods. However, even some of the most utilitarian objects bear the markings of more sacred items. The Chinese inscribed all kinds of bronze items with three main motif types: demons, symbolic animals, and abstract symbols.[8] Some large bronzes also bear inscriptions that have helped historians and archaeologists piece together the history of China, especially during the Zhou period.
The bronzes of the Western Zhou period document large portions of history not found in the extant texts, and often were composed by persons of varying rank and possibly even social class."

June Round Robin

With 30 participants from different countries (there is a limit of how many people can participate from a certain country!), June RR is promising to be SUPER fun! Today, I received a first card through this RR. It is from Christine in France. She lives in the countryside and sees the cows near her garden all the time. :) I would appreciate it if someone could tell me the exact translation. :) Google Translator had hard time with this phrase. I am including the beautiful stamp as well.

Western Europe

When I was little in the Soviet union, Western Europe was something like a fairy-tale land. Not many people could go there. And all the fascinating things they told about!!! When I landed at the airport in London at the age of 20, I could not believe that I actually came to the Western Europe! I really loved London and hope to take my girls there one of these days. :) I am just waiting for them to grow up a bit more to enjoy the trip!

This postcard is so beautiful and shows all of the famous places to visit in London.

Another postcard is from Milan, Italy. It shows the Piazza del Duomo, the Cathedral Square. Mark Twain loved Duomo and wrote in "Innocents Abroad":
"What a wonder it is! So grand, so solemn, so vast! And yet so delicate, so airy, so graceful! A very world of solid weight, and yet it seems ...a delusion of frostwork that might vanish with a breath!...
The central one of its five great doors is bordered with a bas-relief of birds and fruits and beasts and insects, which have been so ingeniously carved out of the marble that they seem like living creatures-- and the figures are so numerous and the design so complex, that one might study it a week without exhausting its interest..
.everywhere that a niche or a perch can be found about the enormous building, from summit to base, there is a marble statue, and every statue is a study in itself...
Away above, on the lofty roof, rank on rank of carved and fretted spires spring high in the air, and through their rich tracery one sees the sky beyond. ...(Up on) the roof...springing from its broad marble flagstones, were the long files of spires, looking very tall close at hand, but diminishing in the distance...We could see, now, that the statue on the top of each was the size of a large man, though they all looked like dolls from the street... They say that the Cathedral of Milan is second only to St. Peter's at Rome. I cannot understand how it can be second to anything made by human hands. "

3 cards from Germany

Last week brought me 3 beautiful multiview cards from Germany. They all came via different tags or robins from postcrossing.com.

Isabel sent me "Magdeburg an der Elbe" card, written in Spanish. It was a part of the Other languages RR, where you have to request a language other than English. Of course, I asked for Spanish! I am expecting a few more cards through that RR.
The card is very beautiful with amazing sites. Unfortunately, I have no idea what they are as there is no discriptions. I assume that the statue is of Martin Luther as he preached in Magdeburg calling for Reformation. I also found out that town was founded in 805! So old! Emperor Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, lived during most of his reign in the town and was buried in the Magdeburg cathedral after his death. Magdeburg was one of the most important town in the Medieval Europe. If you know what else is on the postcard, please, leave me a comment! I would really appreciate it!

Through Europe-USA tag, I got this Nuremberg (Nürnberg in german) card from Morgaine. It is a multiview as well but they all are labeled. The only thing I have ever heard about this town was the Nuremberg Trials. It is so interesting to see all the historical places. Schöner Brunnen (Beautiful Fountain) and the church of Our Lady in the upper center must be breathtaking! As is St Lorenz-Kirche in the bottom left. The Fountain was so old and special that the original was placed in the German National Museum.

Gina sent me this card through the Hometown RR. She was very kind and gave me a short history of Chemnitz as well. This town is located in Eastern Germany, close to Czech border and, I thought, the name of it doesn't sound very German. Wikipedia: An early Slavic tribe's settlement was located at Kamienica ("stony brook"), and the first documented use of Chemnitz was the 1143 site of a Benedictine monastery, around which a settlement grew. In medieval times, Chemnitz became a centre of textile production and trade. More than one third of the population worked in textile production. By the early 19th century Chemnitz had become an industrial centre. Now, the population is 245, ooo. From 1953 until 1990, Chemnitz was named Karl-Marx-Stadt ( I admit, I heard that name before :)

Typical Finland

Nina informed me that it is a" very typical Finnish view". :) I have never been to Finland, but I have been to the areas close to Finland. I think I would imagine Finland's countryside being like this.
Received this card through the Slavic Countries Round Robin.

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Sao Paulo, Brazil

Via "Us and Around the World" RR, I received this card from Sao Paulo, Brazil! Looks like an amazingly overpopulated city!!! Here is some information from Wikipedia:

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil and South America, and is the 7th out of the largest metropolitan regions in the world. The name means Saint Paul in Portuguese. The city also lies at the center of the heavily urbanized Sao Paulo metro area, which, with an estimated 21,616,060 people in 2008 over 7,944 square kilometers (3,067.2 sq mi), is the largest metro in the nation.

Jesuit missionaries Manuel da Nobrega and Jose de Anchieta founded the village of San Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga in 1554. São Paulo officially became a city in 1711. In the 19th century, it experienced a flourishing economic prosperity, brought about chiefly through coffee exports, which were shipped abroad from the port of the neighboring city of Santos.


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Native Animals Round Robin

A beautiful moose from Finland...














... and beautiful "snowy owls (located at Assiniboine Park)"
from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
(Manitoba is located just to the North of Minnesota, our direct neighbor).

St. Petersburg, Russia - Lomonosov Bridge and Trinity Cathedral

A beautiful card from Alexandra. Saint Petersburg is a very beautiful city. This picture depicts an old Lomonosov Bridge across the Fontanka River. Wikipedia says that it " is the best preserved of towered movable bridges that used to be typical for St. Petersburg in the 18th century." Bridge was built in 1785-1787.

In the back you can see the Trinity Cathedral.

According to the Russian tradition, each regiment of the imperial guards had its own cathedral. The Trinity Cathedral was the regimental church of the Izmailovsky Regiment of Imperial guards, one of the oldest guards regiments in the Russian Army.

On July12, 1733, a large field tent operating as a church was consecrated here, with icons painted on a dark blue satin. However, the church functioned only in the summer, and in winter the soldiers and officers had to attend other parish churches. In 1754-1756, a wooden church was built on the site on order of Epress Elizabeth. The church had two altars, the main one of which was consecrated in the name of the Trinity. It suffered heavy damage as a result of the flood of 1824 and had to be rebuilt. Construction of the new church began in May 1828, and the new cathedral was consecrated in May 1835.

The interesting fact: in 2006, the main dome of the Cathedral collapsed and one of the smaller destroyed due to a large fire. (This card was published in 2003!). Thankfully, Russian Government is restoring the old church.

The cathedral became a part of the Saint Petersburg UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990.


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Yekaterinburg, Russia

I have been to Yekaterinburg a couple of times. It is located on the border of Europe and Asia, right on the Ural Mountains. It is the very beginning of Siberia. When I was little, it was called Sverdlovsk for Yakov Sverdlov, one of bolsheviks' leaders.

Yekaterinburg (Russian: Екатеринбу́рг) is a major city in the central part of Russia. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural Mountain Range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Ural Region. Its population is 1,293,537 which makes it Russia's fifth largest city. On the card, you can see 3 of the city's theaters.

The city was founded in 1723 by Vasily Tatischev and named after Saint Catherine, the namesake of Tsar Peter the Great's wife Empress Catherine I (Yekaterina).


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Moscow, Russia

The first Russian reference to Moscow dates from 1147 when Yuri Dolgoruky called upon the prince of the Novgorod Republic to “come to me, brother, to Moscow". Nine years later, in 1156, Prince Yuri Dolgoruky of Rostov ordered the construction of a wooden wall, which had to be rebuilt multiple times, to surround the emerging city. Since then, he is considered the Moscow's founder. This postcard depicts the monument to Yuri Dolgoruky.

Kremlin from the Moscow River.
From Wikipedia: Kremlin "is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River (to the south), St. Basil's Cathedral and Red Square (to the east) and the Alexander Garden (to the west). It is the best known of kremlins (Russian citadels) and includes four palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin Towers. The complex serves as the official residence of the President of Russia." Kremlin is a UNESCO World heritage site.


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Novosibirsk, Russia

From my motherland of Russia, I received a nice card from Olya/Kelpie through the "Russia and the Rest of the World" tag. I think it depicts an interesting place in the big modern city. It is a small chapel of St. Nickolas, the miracle worker, right in the middle of a busy boulevard.


Here is a little about Novosibirsk: "Novosibirsk (Russian: Новосиби́рск) is Russia's third-largest city, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg. It is also the largest city in Siberia. The city was founded in 1893 as the future site of the TransSiberian Railway bridge crossing the great Siberian river Ob' and was known as Novonikolayevsk after Saint Nicholas. It also was the name of the Tsar ruling at that time, Tsar Nickolas II. Now, the popilation is about 1.5 million. Amazingly, I found out that Minneapolis is a sister-city to Novosibirsk since 1989! Interesting...


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Toronto, Ontario, Canada

3 cards arrived from Canada as "3 tourist attraction postcards in an envelope" Round Robin. They came from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Royal Ontario Museum (sounds like a science museum)


Toronto Hockey Hall of Fame


And, last but not least, the famous Niagara Falls. I have never been there but I have heard that the Canadian side of the waterfalls are much more impressive and more interesting to see than the American side. I think we will try to go there as soon as our little daughter is older and able to remember the trip.



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