Little My from Moominvalley

I received two new postcards with another of Moomin Trolls. Here is a little bit of her story from wiki:

Little My (Swedish: Lilla My, Finnish: Pikku Myy) is a character in the Moomins series of books by Tove Jansson. She first appears in the fourth book, The Exploits of Moominpappa. She is a small, determined and fiercely independent Mymble. When she wants something done, she does it straight away. She is very aggressive, mischievous to a fault and totally disrespectful, but can be a good friend when she wants to. She has a brash personality. She is the Mymble's Daughter's younger sister. She is eventually adopted by the Moomin family.

The name Little My originated from the Greek letter μ (Mu); in Swedish, [my] is the phonetic pronunciation of the word "my".

The popularity of the character has led to the personal name My being borne by more than 3000 women and girls in Sweden.

Malaysia

I received two postcards from Malaysia this week. One came through July Round Robin, another is a private swap. I never knew that Malaysian postcards are so nice! They are very detailed, well-made and just so beautiful! I am including the amazing stamps as well. Thank you

to my senders for such treasures!

"Trishaws are easily available within the vacinity of famous landmarks of Melaka (Malacca)."

Wat Chayamangkalaram in Penang is the Thai buddhist temple which houses the 3rd largest (33 meters) reclining buddha in the world.

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A Festival of Postcards, #3 - SIGNS

For the July entry in the Festival of postcards, I have a few cards. The theme of the Festival is Signs, which is fun but a bit difficult! I have a single card featuring ONLY a sign, but I also have a few with signs on them. :) It was very hard to pick which ones to put on this blog, so I picked my most favorite cards and places that I have seen myself.

From our most recent trip to Florida, come two cards with signs. The Universal Studios' Islands of Adventures is a large amusement park, that is located in Orlando, Florida. Back reads, "Take an amazing journey through five awe-inspiring islands, each one featuring new and exciting adventures that bring your favorite stories to life. Explore Seuss Landing, The Lost Continent, Jurassic Park, Toon lagoon, and Marvel SuperHero Island, where the world's most technologically advanced rides and attractions challenge you to Live the Adventure!" This is an actual SIGN in the front of the Park. It was an exciting park to visit, especially if you have teen or preteen children. They are also opening a new Harry Potter "island" in 2010! We can't wait to go back!

Another postcard comes from my favorite EPCOT World Showcase in Disney World, Florida. I am not sure whether this sign says "The China Pavilion" or "The Temple of Heaven" (the blue building right behind the gates). It is located in the front of the China Area.Our local Science Museum of Minnesota has a lot of signs in the front of it! It is a very nice and large Museum. They have an Omnitheater and lots of permanent and traveling exhibits. Right now, you can visit "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition".

From our travels to the Bahamas, comes this little house. "The Gable House is a prime example of old Bahamian architecture."

We loved the town of Puerta Vallarta on the Pacific side of Mexico. The main street of town is located along the shore and looks like a promenade, called "El Malecon". There are a LOT of signs on that street! During the day, there is an open air market with sellers coming from different regions of Mexico. Come there at night and you will see town come to life in a different way! It seems like everybody is there, strolling, talking, eating, watching the painters, clowns, performers, and dancers. Every night, there was a different troupe entertaining the public.
This is a vintage reprint card from a small town on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin, Stillwater. You can definitely see the SIGNS of celebration on the Main Street! On the back, it reads, "Traffic control for Stillwater's downtown Main Street does not seem to be a problem in 1913, photo looking south". I would have loved to be there for the 4th of July! And the SIGN of soon approaching Christmas in Salzburg, Austria, is the Christkindlmarkt - "The Christmas Fair". My friend, who lives in Salzburg, visits it every year and usually gets lots of nice Christmas decorations and gifts at the Fair.

Postcard Scavenger hunt #5, Night/Lights

I love participating in the Postcardy's Postcard Scavenger hunt! This months hunt is for the modern cards featuring the night scenes from someone's hometown or recent travels. Since Postcardy and I share hometown (Minneapolis), I have only a few cards to add. Most of them are from Saint Paul, together with Minneapolis they are often called "Twin Cities". Also, I would like to add a couple from our travels in the US.

From our most recent trip to Orlando, Florida, we brought a lot of nice cards. :)

If you ever visit Disney World, make sure to stay for the amazing fireworks/light show at the Epcot park.

And a picture of "old" America. Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, Governor's Palace. It was home to seven royal governors and the firsst two governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Patrick henry and Thomas Jefferson.

Bratislava, Slovakia

Another great card from a June Round Robin. When I was little, my father traveled a lot in the so-called (back then) Socialist block of countries. Then, it was Czechoslovakia, of course. I had a set of beautiful cards from there with old buildings, parks with huge trees and churches. I used to look at them and dream about going to see all those places one day. I was told that it might never happen... But look at me now, living in the States and travelling as much as possible! Nobody would have been able to imagine such a fortune back then! I think that is why lots of Russians like to travel. We were told that we wouldn't be able to... ever... Only "special", distinguished people had a chance.

Here is some info on the city: Bratislava — historically Pozsony and Pressburg — is the capital of the Slovac Republic and, with a population of about 429,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Most historical buildings are concentrated in the Old Town. Notable cathedrals and churches include the gothic St. Martin's Cathedral built in the 13th–16th centuries, which served as the coronation church of the Kingdom of Hungary between 1563 and 1830. (we can see it to the right on the card)

The square castle on the card is "Bratislava Castle, on a plateau 85 metres (279 ft) above the Danube. The castle hill site has been inhabited since the transition period between the Stone and Bronze ages and has been the acropolis of a Celtic town, part of the Roman Limes Romanus, a huge Slavic fortified settlement, and a political, military and religious centre for Great Moravia. A stone castle was not constructed until the 10th century, when the area was part of the Kingdom of Hungary. The castle was rebuilt in 1649 in the baroque style. Under Queen Maria Theresa, the castle became a prestigious royal seat. In 1811, the castle was inadvertently destroyed and lay in ruins until the 1950s, when it was rebuilt mostly in its former Theresan style."

Klaipeda, Lithuania

After a long hiatus, I am back home :) We went on vacation, so by the time I got home, my little Post box was pretty full! Very exciting!

I will try to post some of my absolute favorite cards within next few days. There are a lot of them now, as I participated in the large monthly Round Robins.

This card arrived from Lithuania, from a town called Klaipeda. The sender explained that it is a third largest town in this Baltic country and in the middle of the card, one can see the water gates into the Baltic Sea.

From Wikipedia: Klaipėda (German: Memel) is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Curonian Lagoon where it flows into the Baltic Sea. As Lithuania's only seaport, it has ferry terminal connections to Sweden and Germany. Somme of its older buildings have picturesque half-timbered construction, similar to that found in Germany, France, England, Denmark and southern Sweden.