Monthly Fav. Surprise RR * February '22

I didn't forget about these cards, I was actually waiting for one of them and now that I've got them all, I can finally post them.

 

 www.postkaardid.ee

It seems that Ella took some time to send her cards but it was worth the wait. She sent me this card from my favs from beautiful Tallinn, one of my favorite cities in Europe. 

This pair of picturesque, ivy-covered towers at the entrance to Viru Street is often the first glimpse visitors get of Old Town. 

The towers are actually only the foregates of what was a much more complex gate system built in the 14th century. It included a large, square tower that stood father back along the street, close to where the city wall can be seen.

Most of the gate was pulled down in the 1880s to make room for traffic, but these two towers remained and have since become a symbol of the town. - in: https://visittallinn.ee

Getting cards from new castles is something that makes me quite happy. Thank you Veronica. 

The history of this legendary castle goes back 800 years. For a long time, Kalmar Castle was an important fortification and known as the key to the kingdom because of its strategical location.
 Kalmar Castle was given its current design during the 16th century, when the Vasa kings Gustav, Erik XIV and Johan III rebuilt the medieval castle and made it into a Renaissance palace, furnished and decorated in continental fashion.

Even before then the castle had played an important role in Nordic politics, for example as the location for the signing of the Kalmar Union in 1397. This event was celebrated during the whole year of 1997, the union's 600th anniversary. - in: https://www.kalmarslott.se

© WERBVERLAG R.

I already have a few Herrenchiemsee Palace cards and if I'm not mistaken, this is not the 1st card Marei sent me to it.

Herrenchiemsee stands as a monument to Ludwig's admiration of King Louis XIV of France.
The palace was shaped in a 'W' with wings flanking the central edifice. Only 16 of the 70 rooms were on the ground floor. Though it was to have been an equivalent to the Palace of Versailles, only the central portion was built before the king died and construction was discontinued with 50 of the 70 rooms still incomplete. It was never intended to be a perfectly exact replica of the French royal palace. Like Versailles, the Hall of Mirrors has 17 arches, the Hall of Peace and the Hall of War on either side have six windows each. The window niches at Herrenchiemsee are slightly wider than those at Versailles, making its central façade a few metres wider. The dining room features an elevator table and the world's largest Meissen porcelain chandelier. Technologically, the building also benefits from nearly two centuries of progress. The original Versailles palace lacked toilets, water, and central heating, while the New Palace has all of these, including a large heated bathtub. - in: wikipedia

Karina sent me this street art card. Not much information about the art but I've learnt about ACTA and why was it important to stop it. 

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a multilateral treaty for the purpose of establishing international standards for intellectual property rights enforcement that did not enter into force. The agreement aims to establish an international legal framework for targeting counterfeit goods, generic medicines and copyright infringement on the Internet. Industrial groups with interests in copyright, trademarks and other types of intellectual property said that ACTA was a response to "the increase in global trade of counterfeit goods and pirated copyright protected works"

Organisations representing citizens and non-governmental interests argued that ACTA could infringe fundamental rights including freedom of expression and privacy. ACTA has also been criticised by Doctors Without Borders for endangering access to medicines in developing countries. The nature of negotiations was criticized as secretive and has excluded non-governmental organizations, developing countries and the general public from the agreement's negotiation process and it has been described as policy laundering by critics including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Entertainment Consumers Association.
The signature of the EU and many of its member states resulted in widespread protests across Europe.
On 4 July 2012, the European Parliament declined its consent, effectively rejecting it. - in: wikipedia