LT-238768

Storks are one of Lithuania's symbols. The White Stork was declared the national bird of Lithuania in 1973.

 © Naisiu vasara

LT- 238768, sent by Giedre.

Lithuanians believe that storks bring harmony to the families on whose property they nest; they have also kept up the tradition of telling their children that storks bring babies. Stork Day is celebrated on March 25 with various archaic rituals: gifts for children, attributed to the storks, such as fruits, chocolates, pencils, and dyed eggs, are hung on tree branches and fences; snakes are caught, killed and buried under the doorstep; straw fires are lit. Notably, Lithuania is a beneficial and important habitat for these birds: it has the highest known nesting density in the world. - in: wikipedia

Tobolsk - Russia

One last card from Russia to finish this set of russian cards.

This is a card from Tobolsk, historic capital of Siberia, sent by "littlesquirrel". It was one of my favorites!  

Tobolsk is a town in Tyumen Oblast.

Tobolsk is the only town in Siberia and one of the few in Russia which has a standing stone kremlin (Tobolsk Kremlin): an elaborate city-fortress from the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. Its white walls and towers with an ensemble of churches and palatial buildings spectacularly sited on a high river bank were proclaimed a national historical and architectural treasure in 1870. - in: wikipedia

Some of the principal monuments in the kremlin are the Cathedral of St. Sophia (1683–1686) and the merchant courtyard (1703–1705), both on the card.

More russian cards

Good morning! I just woke up and i'm already bored... This is my 3rd day off in a row (this doesn't happen that often) and i'm tired of beeing at home. I want to go somewhere today but the weather is a bit gray. Maybe after lunch the clouds decide to go away.

Updating is always a nice thing to do when i don't feel like doing anything else. These russian cards are the result of a trade with Lidiya, which contacted in the PC official site.

This 1st card is from Kislovodsk, a spa city in Stavropol Krai, which lies in the North Caucasian region of the country, between the Black and Caspian Seas.
The city is named after the many mineral springs around the city. On the card there's a 19th-century building of narzan baths.

I'm not sure about this one, but i think this is a card from Mount Elbrus.  This is a dormant volcano located in the western Caucasus mountain range, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay–Cherkessia, Russia, near the border of Georgia. Mt. Elbrus's peak is the highest in the Caucasus, in Russia. While there are differing authorities on how the Caucasus are distributed between Europe and Asia, many sources agree that Elbrus is also the highest mountain in all of Europe, or the highest in western Asia, narrowly exceeding another volcano, Mt. Damavand in the Alborz range in Iran. Mt. Elbrus (west summit) stands at 5,642 metres (18,510 ft); the east summit is slightly lower at 5,621 metres (18,442 ft). - in: wikipedia

This one is from Stavropol and it shows German Lopatin Monument. Lopatin was was a Russian revolutionary, journalist and writer.

© Evgenia Petrochenko

Speaking of World Heritage Sites, these are some of the russian building belonging to the Unesco list. Gefsimansky Skit in Sergiev Posad; Qol Sharif Mosque in Kazan; Church on Spilt Blood in St. Petersburg; Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow; Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir; KIizhi Pogost on Kizhi Island; Church of Christ's Ascension in Kolomenskoye; the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Kazan and Moscow's Kremlin.

RU-1165136 & RU-1186850

Great officials from Russia!

RU-1165136, sent by Natasha.

I really liked this card, my 1st from Ryazan and it shows the city's Kremlin..

Ryazan is situated 200 km southeast from Moscow. This is one of the most ancient Russian cities with centuries-old history that began far back in the IX-X century A.D.

The Pearl of Ryazan is the Ryazan Kremlin, the most ancient historical kernel of the city. During its long life the Kremlin was reconstructed several times. It now presents the whole complex of remarkable monuments of the old Russian style and the architecture of classicism of XV-XIX centuries. In 1968 the ensemble of architectural monuments of the Ryazan Kremlin arranged historical collections and archeological relics of the Old Ryazan City. It turned into a historical-architectural museum which since 1995 has been included in the State Corpus of the most valuable objects of the cultural heritage of Russian Federation. - in: http://www.rtourism.ru/en

 RU-1186850, sent by Sergey.

I think i should learn russian. I often have to make a lot of research to discover where my russian cards are from when they don't have any info in english. Online cyrilic keyboards don't always help.

Anyway, in this case i managed to discover that this is a card from Belgorod, showing the Dormition and St Nicholas' Cathedral and the Intercession Church.

The convent's cathedral is dedicated to both the Dormition of the Virgin Mary and to St Nicholas. It was built between 1692 and 1709. After the revolution the cathedral was closed and briefly used as a prison before being turned over for use as a bread factory. In 1998 the building was returned to the Church and re-consecrated in 2005 after having become the convent's cathedral. 

The blue Intercession Church was built between 1766 and 1791 and extended in 1865 with the addition of an altar dedicated to St Tikhon of Zadonsk. Like the Dormition and St Nicholas' Cathedral, it too was used as a prison after the revolution. Later it was used as a mechanic's workshop, until it was finally returned to the Church in 1991 and restored. - in: http://rusmania.com/Russia/Central-district/Belgorod-Region/Belgorod/

Vimmerby - Sweden

Another swedish card, and again, not sent from Sweden. This one is a lottery prize sent from Portugal by Miguel.

Vimmerby is a city in Kalmar County, Sweden. Vimmerby is currently a tourist attraction due to historical links with Astrid Lindgren, a swedish author best known for the Pippi Longstocking book series. 

The card shows a castle in The Astrid Lindgrens World, an amusement park for children.

Copyright: Sagobyn HB, Vimmerby. Photo by Bo Sällberg

In its 130,000 square metres, visitors meet all the beloved characters from Astrid Lindgren's books in person. All the environments are built as prescribed in the books and they give child visitors the possibility to enter into the stories of Pippi Longstocking, Emil i Lönneberga, Karlsson-on-the-Roof, and many others of Astrid Lindgren's beloved characters.

Astrid Lindgrens World is open in the summer from May to August. During the summer season events go on all day long, both on stage and improvised all around the park. The small stage just inside the entrance and the main stage shows every day special written scenes with music that includes singing and dancing. But the meeting with the environments and the interaction with the well-known characters form an important part of the offering.

Besides the theme park, Astrid Lindgren's World also offers its visitors many different types of lodging options and a wide selection of places for picnics, coffeehouse and restaurant visits. - in: wikipedia

FI-1532279

This is also an official from Finland, sent from Finland but the card is from Sweden. It shows Stockholm City Hall.

 Säljarbrev

FI-1532279, sent by Leo.

Stockholm City Hall is the building of the Municipal Council for the City of Stockholm in Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands of Riddarholmen and Södermalm. It houses offices and conference rooms as well as ceremonial halls, and the luxury restaurant Stadshuskällaren. It is the venue of the Nobel Prize banquet and one of Stockholm's major tourist attractions.

To the south-east of the City Hall, facing Riddarholmen, is a pillar roughly 20 meters tall with a statue of Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson on top. - in: wikipedia

FI-1501145 & FI-1517866

I'm tired. These last days at work have been crazy but, fortunately, i won't work the next 3 days and i only need to work ten more days before my holidays!! I can wait to get in a plane again.

For now, i'm still here and with time for updates. The 1st cards of the month are from Finland.

 Photo & Copyright: Niklas Bildarkiv AB

 FI-1501145, sent by Liisa.
A lighthouse somwhere in Finland or in the world.

 www.kartu.fi Photo by Markku Roisko

FI-1517866, sent by Pirita.
This is my 2nd official from Kotka.

Kotka is located on the coast of the Gulf of Finland at the mouth of Kymi River and it is part of the Kymenlaakso region in southern Finland. The Port of Kotka is a major Finnish sea port that serves both the foreign trade of Finland and Russia. - in: wikipedia

On the card there's the Maretarium – Finnish Sea Life; a local garden; the Maritime Centre Vellamo and the city's Lutheran Church.