Monthly Fav. Surprise RR - July '26

 Back to 2026 with the cards that I received in July. These are from Russia, China, Finland and Canada.

 

The stone Resurrection Church was built on the Trade square of Ples in 1817, in honor of the victory of Russia over Napoleon. 

The card was sent by Nadezhda.

 

Since I bought my own house, I'm quite interrested to see how traditional houses look like around the world. mm6 sent me this one, Qiao’s Family Compound, a large architectural complex located in Qiaojiabao village of Qixian county, in Shanxi Province.

It’s originally built in 1756 during the Qing Dynasty and was possessed by Qiao Zhiyong, a famous business man in that historical period.

The compound was renovated twice and enlarged once to become the present magnificent building which reflects the unique living styles of northerners in ancient China during the Qing Dynasty.The compound is an enclosed castle-like architecture which occupies an area of 4,175 sq.m. (44,939 sq. ft.) and is now composed of six large courtyards, 20 small courtyards and 313 rooms. - in: https://windhorsetour.com

 PALETTI

I believe that most of us associate Finland with snow, not beaches. I've been to beach in Finland, but I really, really want to see snow in Finland. 

Hailuoto is the largest island in the Bay of Bothnia with an area of approximately 200 square kilometres. The island is located off the coast of Oulu, approximately 7 kilometres from the mainland. A significant part of Hailuoto’s surface area is included in the Natura 2000 nature conservation programme. - in: https://www.luontoon.fi

Anna mentioned that a brand new bridge is now connecting the island to mainland, so it may no longer be as peaceful and quiet as it was before. 

www.papersisters.de

This was Shelley's 1st RR in the forum and she wanted to share with me this card that she got from the Paper Sisters, in person, at a meet up in Toronto in 2018. It probably was the 1st version of the Happy Postcrossing from Canada.