Winnipesaukee Lake - USA

And the last card of the week was the beautiful sunrise over the Winnipesaukee Lake in New Hampshire. The card was sent by Dulcey and i love it.

"Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in New Hampshire. The lake contains at least 253 islands, half of which are less than a quarter-acre in size and is indented by several peninsulas, yielding a total shoreline of some 288 miles (463 km).
Lake Winnipesaukee has been a tourist destination for more than a century, especially for residents escaping the summer heat of Boston and New York City. The Native American name Winnipesaukee means either "smile of the Great Spirit" or "beautiful water in a high place." - in: wikipedia

Portuguese lottery cards

I've recently won a lottery on the portuguese community hosted by Joaquim "kosta28" and yesterday i've received his cards.

Tricana, the most beautiful sardines canes in the world.

This is the Our Lord of the Navigators Church in Caxinas, Vila do Conde, also known as the Boat Church. It was inaugurated in 1985.

Other officials

The other 2 official cards i've received are from Singapore and the Netherlands.

SG-18429, sent by Zhou "xinyu".

This is an official from Singapore but the card is from China and it shows the Washing Ribbon Pavilion over the water at the Master of the Nets Garden, one of the Classical Gardens of Suzhou. The classical gardens in Suzhou were added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997 and 2000.

"Classical Chinese garden design, which seeks to recreate natural landscapes in miniature, is nowhere better illustrated than in the nine gardens in the historic city of Suzhou. They are generally acknowledged to be masterpieces of the genre. Dating from the 11th-19th century, the gardens reflect the profound metaphysical importance of natural beauty in Chinese culture in their meticulous design." - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/813/

NL-182456, sent by Kaleb.

The De Bijenkorf is the biggest department store in Amsterdam.
"The history of De Bijenkorf dates back till 1870, when Philip Goudsmit opened its first the shop with buttons and sewing supplies at the busy Nieuwendjik street. During the renovation of the shop in 1912, it had to be temporary moved to the Dam square. The sales quadrupled and ever since the Bijenkorf, now in its monumental building dating from 1957 (designed by Marcel Breuer), has been located at the Dam square.

The Bijenkorf is an institution. Not only because of the quality of it’s up market choice and sometimes high prices. The store contains a restaurant and a coffee bar, art gallery and a hairdresser for the young people. It organizes festivities, concerts, fashion shows, cultural travels and exhibitions.

No wonder The Bijenkorf bears the proud title Koninklijke – Royal. The Royal Bijenkorf - because it’s rich history is inseparably linked with the history of Amsterdam and the Netherlands. De Bijenkorf and its personnel bravely resisted German occupation during the WWII. The store has been burnt two times, remaining opened throughout the war years. As Jewish-owned, De Bijenkorf had to be formally handed over for the time of the Nazi rule in the Netherlands, to the non-Jewish proprietors." - in: http://www.amsterdam.info/shopping/bijenkorf/

Finnish official cards

I've received 4 official cards this week and 2 of them were from Finland.

FI-585549, sent by Heli "HHH".

The sentence on the card means "i'd hope you'll find the flower of the green meadow."

FI-583939, sent by Rontii "leejanss".

"Savonlinna castle is one of the best-preserved medieval castles in Scandinavia. Founded in 1475, it was occupied by the Russians from 1743 to the first half of the 20th century. Today, the castle hosts two museums that outline its history and display its orthodox treasures. Three historic ships, the Savonlinna, the Salama and the Mikko are moored alongside the museum - each housing exhibitions.

For the month of July, Savonlinna castle is the setting for the most renowned and popular festival in Finland - the Opera Festival. Held in the courtyard of the castle, it is a four-week festival of high-class opera attracting top international performers and is well worth an attendance." - in: http://www.alltravelfinland.com/Finland/Destination_Guides/Cities/Savonlinna.htm

Taiwan mapcard

This was the 1st card of this week, well, i think it was. It was a surprise card from Licia.

She disappeared from the postcrossing forum but apparently she was having a great time in Taiwan.
Taiwan is "separated from the Asian continent by the 180-kilometre-wide Taiwan Strait, the main island of the group is 394 kilometres (245 mi) long and 144 kilometres (89 mi) wide. To its northeast are the main islands of Japan, and the southern end of the Ryukyu Islands of Japan is directly to the east; the Philippines lie to its south. It spans across the Tropic of Cancer and consists of steep mountains, covered by tropical and subtropical vegetation. Other minor island and islets of the group include the Pescadores, Green Island, and Orchid Island among others; as well as the Diaoyutai Islands which are controlled by Japan since the 1970s and known as the Senkaku-shotō." - in: wikipedia

Veronika's cards

It's almost 4 am here but i want to finish upding because i don't know when i'll be able to make more updates. Lets end for today with the 3 cards Veronika "clarividence" sent me.

"Chavín de Huántar is an archaeological site containing ruins and artifacts originally constructed by the Chavín, a pre-Inca culture, around 900 BC. The site is located 250 kilometers (160 mi) north of Lima, Peru. Chavín de Huántar has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Chavín de Huántar was initially built around 900 BC. While the fairly large population was based on an agricultural economy, the city's location at the headwaters of the Marañón River, between the coast and the jungle, made it an ideal location for the dissemination and collection of both ideas and material goods. This archeological site is a large ceremonial center that has revealed a great deal about the Chavín culture. Chavín de Huántar served as a gathering place for people of the region to come together and worship. The transformation of the center into a valley-dominating monument had a complex effect; it became a pan-regional place of importance, such that being at Chavin de Huantar had value in itself: for witnessing ritual, consulting an oracle, or entering a cult.
Findings at Chavín de Huántar indicate that social instability and upheaval began to occur between 500 and 300 BC, at the same time that the larger Chavín civilization began to decline. Large ceremonial sites were abandoned, some unfinished, and were replaced by villages and agricultural land. At Chavín de Huántar, no later than 500 BC, a small village replaced the Circular Plaza. The plaza was occupied by a succession of groups, and building stones and stone carvings were salvaged for use in house walls. Multiple occupation floors indicate the village was continuously occupied through the 1940s." - in: wikipedia

"The city of Tiwanaku, capital of a powerful pre-Hispanic empire that dominated a large area of the southern Andes and beyond, reached its apogee between 500 and 900 AD. Its monumental remains testify to the cultural and political significance of this civilisation, which is distinct from any of the other pre-Hispanic empires of the Americas. The ruins of Tiwanaku bear striking witness to the power of the empire that played a leading role in the development of the Andean prehispanic civilization.

The buildings of Tiwanaku are exceptional examples of the ceremonial and public architecture and art of one of the most important manifestations of the civilizations of the Andean region." - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/567

La Paz (Full name : Nuestra Señora de La Paz) is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of La Paz Department.
Located at an altitude of 3,660 metres (12,008 ft), it is the world's highest capital city.

Croatia + Belgium whs

This was a great envelope with new unesco whs from my collection, 1 from Croatia and the other 2 from Belgium. I got these thanks to Anne "nanou".

"Trogir is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia. The historic city of Trogir is situated on a small island between the Croatian mainland and the island of Čiovo. It lies 27 kilometres west of the city of Split.
Trogir has a fascinating 2300 years of continuous urban tradition. Its rich culture was created under the influence of old Greeks, Romans, and Venetians. Trogir has a high concentration of palaces, churches, and towers, as well as a fortress on a small island, and in 1997 was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List. "The orthogonal street plan of this island settlement dates back to the Hellenistic period and it was embellished by successive rulers with many fine public and domestic buildings and fortifications. Its beautiful Romanesque churches are complemented by the outstanding Renaissance and Baroque buildings from the Venetian period", says UNESCO report.
Trogir is the best-preserved Romanesque-Gothic complex not only in the Adriatic, but in all of Central Europe. Trogir's medieval core, surrounded by walls, comprises a preserved castle and tower and a series of dwellings and palaces from the Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods. Trogir's grandest building is the church of St. Lawrence, whose main west portal is a masterpiece by Radovan, and the most significant work of the Romanesque-Gothic style in Croatia." - in: wikipedia

I already have a card from Brugge and now there's a new one but from a different site, the Flemish Béguinage. "A Béguinage is a collection of small buildings used by Beguines, which were several lay sisterhoods of the Roman Catholic Church, founded in the 13th century, of religious women who sought to serve God without retiring from the world.
A Béguinage comprises a courtyard surrounded by small dwellings. It is often encircled by a wall and secluded from the town proper by one or two gates. Poor and elderly beguines were housed here by benefactors.
The beguines were a religious movement of women. Their success, according to the Belgian historian Henri Pirenne, was due to a surplus of women occasioned by violence, war, military and semi-military operations, which took the lives of many men. Great numbers of women had no option but to unite and collectively secure the aid of rich benefactors.
Similarly, nuns' convents in the twelfth century enjoyed substantial initial success. Stricter rules within Cistercian and other abbeys, however, caused many women to seek less strict surroundings. Moreover, these abbeys' initial success necessitated the refusal of a great many applications for admission. As an additional obstacle, in several cases a certain degree of prosperity was required as a condition for admission to a regular nunnery." - in: wikipedia

"The 91-meter-high belfry of Ghent is one of three medieval towers that overlook the old city center of Ghent, Belgium, the other two belonging to Saint Bavo Cathedral and Saint Nicholas' Church. Through the centuries, it has served not only as a bell tower to announce the time and various warnings, but also as a fortified watchtower and town treasury.
Construction of the tower began in 1313 to the design of master mason Jan van Haelst, whose plans are still preserved in a museum. After continuing intermittently through wars, plagues and political turmoil, the work reached completion in 1380. It was near the end of this period that the gilded dragon, brought from Bruges assumed its place atop the tower. The uppermost parts of the building have been rebuilt several times, in part to accommodate the growing number of bells.
The primary bell in the tower, Roland, was the one used by citizens to warn of an enemy approaching or a battle won. "Roland has become almost a person to the people of Belgium. He is a patriot, a hero, a leader in all rebellion against unrighteous authority."
Upon conquering Belgium, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor ordered the removal of Roland. The belfry of Ghent, together with its attached buildings, belongs to the set of belfries of Belgium and France inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List." in: wikipedia