Hooiberg - Aruba

Lazy saturday morning with some postcards updates. Lets start with something new, my 1st card from Aruba. In the last months, a lot of cards from new or unique places, were sent by Eric and I can't thank him enough.

Beaches are probably the 1st thing that cross our mind when thinking about Aruba but there's more to think and do in this Caribbean country. 

 

 

Hooiberg - which translates to Haystack - is a volcanic formation which 165 meters above sea level, and is located at the approximate center of Aruba. 

One of the contributing factors to Hooiberg's popularity, and the often mistaken belief that it is the highest point, is the fact that it stands out as a solitary mountain surrounded by a flat landscape.
A depiction of Hooiberg can be seen on the Aruban Coat of Arms. It symbolizes Aruba rising out of the sea.
Try to reach the top of Hooiberg and you will have a nice view over the island and the sea. On clear days you can even see Venezuela to the south.

Hooiberg is covered with cacti, divi-divi trees and some Kibrahacha trees. - in: https://www.visitaruba.com 

Divi divi trees are very common and popular on Aruba. The famous Divi Divi (Watapana) tree is always pointing in a southwestern direction due to the trade winds that blow across the island from the north-east.

SE-208836

My 6th official card from Sweden.

 

SE-208836, sent by Eivor. 

The parish church of Glanshammars was originally built in the 12th century and already had a tower that still exists today.

Perhaps the most prominent in today's church rooms are the well-preserved ceiling and wall paintings from 1589. On the south wall there are also some preserved remains from the original church's medieval paintings. There are also three of Närke's rune stones and in addition there is a walled one somewhere near the current entrance.

Blaenau Ffestiniog - UK

Blaenau Ffestiniog in Wales was once a slate mining centre in historic Merionethshire. It reached a population of 12,000 at the peak development of the slate industry, but fell with the decline in demand for slate. It now relies much on tourists, drawn for instance to the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns. 

The mines and quarries, ‘city of slates’ and Railway to Porthmadog, are classified as UNESCO WHS, on the list under the name of  The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales since last year.

This is a new UNESCO site in my collection, thanks to Adam.

© Dave Newbould

The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales illustrates the transformation that industrial slate quarrying and mining brought about in the traditional rural environment of the mountains and valleys of the Snowdon massif. The territory, extending from mountain-top to sea-coast, presented opportunities and constraints that were used and challenged by the large-scale industrial processes undertaken by landowners and capital investors, which reshaped the agricultural landscape into an industrial centre for slate production during the Industrial Revolution (1780-1914). The serial property comprises six components each encompassing relict quarries and mines, archaeological sites related to slate industrial processing, historical settlements, both living and relict, historic gardens and grand country houses, ports, harbours and quays, and railway and road systems illustrating the functional and social linkages of the relict slate industrial landscape. The property was internationally significant not only for the export of slates, but also for the export of technology and skilled workers from the 1780s to the early 20th century. It played a leading role in the field and constituted a model for other slate quarries in different parts of the world. It offers an important and remarkable example of interchange of materials, technology and human values. - in: https://whc.unesco.org

BE-816624

Official from Belgium. 

I was curious and I've just checked how many officials I've received since I joinged PC in 2006. 20 cards, only 20 officials cards and not all were actually from Belgium. This one definitely is. Namur is a city in Wallonia.

© Jacques Leurquin

BE-816624, sent by Claire.

The old Saint-Ignace Jesuit church in Namur, currently the Saint-Loup church, is considered as one of the most beautiful 17th century baroque buildings in Belgium. Designed by Huyssens, it was built between 1621 and 1645. - in: https://www.namurtourisme.be

Nuremberg - Germany

Probably one of the 1st things that comes to mind when thinking about Nuremberg is Second World War and it is not surprising, Nuremberg was the 2nd most bombed German city during the war. The city had been the location of the Nazi Party's Nuremberg rallies and after the war the German officials involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity were brought before an international tribunal in the Nuremberg trials.

The first card, an official, shows the destruction caused by bombing during World War II. The 2nd card is also an official and the 3rd card, sent by Ina, shows the Church of Our Lady.

Fotos: © Stadtarchiv Nürnberg A 41 Nr. 114-7 und Bildagentur Huber

  DE-5012078, sent by Silke.

 The city was severely damaged in Allied strategic bombing from 1943–45. On 29 March 1944, RAF endured its heaviest losses in the bombing campaign of Germany. Out of more than 700 planes participating, 106 were shot down or crash landed on the way home to their base, and more than 700 men were missing, as many as 545 of them dead. More than 160 became prisoners of war. On 2 January 1945, the medieval city centre was systematically bombed by the Royal Air Force and the U.S. Army Air Forces and about ninety percent of it was destroyed in only one hour, with 1,800 residents killed and roughly 100,000 displaced. In February 1945, additional attacks followed. In total, about 6,000 Nuremberg residents are estimated to have been killed in air raids.

Despite this intense degree of destruction, the city was rebuilt after the war and was to some extent, restored to its pre-war appearance including the reconstruction of some of its medieval buildings.[12] However, over half of the historic look of the center, and especially the northeastern half of the old Imperial Free City was lost forever. - in: wikipedia

 

www.artcomposing.de

DE-11822653, sent by Patricia.

St. Lorenz Church was badly damaged during the war but was later restored. It is one of the most prominent churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. 

© 2008 by an SICHTEN verlag

The Frauenkirche ("Church of Our Lady") stands on the eastern side of the main market. An example of brick Gothic architecture, it was built on the initiative of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor between 1352 and 1362. The church contains many sculptures, some of them heavily restored.

The church was almost completely destroyed in the Second World War in the bombing of Nuremberg with only the nave walls and facade remaining. This damage was repaired by 1953.  - in: wikipedia

Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau - Switzerland

These cards show what Switzerland is famous for, mountains and these are three of the most famous, Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. 

CH-554449, sent by Stefanie.

This Oberland, "land from above", is dominated by three peaks: the Jungfrau at 4.158 meters, and Eiger at 3.970 meters (whose famous north face is one of the most difficult climbs in Europe) and the Mönch at 4.099 meters. With its lakes and mountains, it is the most popular tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland, both for skiers in winter and for hikers and mountaineers in summer. 

The first line of the Jungfrau Railway, connecting Interlaken to the Jungfraujoch, was opened in 1912, giving the region a valuable lead.

 

 Copyright by Wefo-Verlag AG

CH-612106, sent by Jennifer.

At the foot of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, the ski areas of Grindelwald, Wengen, Mürren, Lauterbrunnen and Interlaken offer 200 km of pistes. Above Grindelwald there are gentle slopes (First Region) for beginners and sunny slopes for all skiers. - in: https://www.petitfute.co.uk 

Bordeaux - France

My last time in France was almost 9 years ago and now is finally time to return. Flight is booked to... Bordeaux. To be honest the city was never on my wishlist but after checking some flight options and ruling out the places my friend and I have already been too, this French city was the winner. in October I'll get to see all the places on these cards sent by Óscar, Nancy and Cathy.

Editions RENE * Photo: Drouot

The Port of the Moon, port city of Bordeaux in south-west France, is inscribed as an inhabited historic city, an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble, created in the age of the Enlightenment, whose values continued up to the first half of the 20th century, with more protected buildings than any other French city except Paris. It is also recognized for its historic role as a place of exchange of cultural values over more than 2,000 years, particularly since the 12th century due to commercial links with Britain and the Low Lands. Urban plans and architectural ensembles of the early 18th century onwards place the city as an outstanding example of innovative classical and neoclassical trends and give it an exceptional urban and architectural unity and coherence. Its urban form represents the success of philosophers who wanted to make towns into melting pots of humanism, universality and culture. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1256

Connecting the left and right banks of the Garonne, commissioned by Napoleon and inaugurated in 1822, the Pont de Pierre was the first bridge ever built in Bordeaux.

Until then, it was necessary to cross the river by boat. 

The bridge has 17 spans... which is also the number of letters in the name Napoleon Bonaparte. The Pont de Pierre was the only bridge to connect the city's historic centre on the left bank and the La Bastide district on the right bank for nearly 150 years.

 

Photo: © Olivier Anger

FR-1516598, sent by Cathy.

Today, it is crossed by an ultramodern tramway and is one of half a dozen bridges. The Pont de Pierre nevertheless has a special place in the hearts of the Bordelais, who admire its elegance. The also scrutinise the bridge's piles to ascertain the level of the tide. - in: http://www.bordeaux-tourism.co.uk/offre/fiche/pont-de-pierre/PCUAQU033V500O5D