Isle of Wight - England

The Isle of Wight is the largest island of England. Is located in the English Channel, less than 2 hours from London via the Isle of Wight Ferry.  

This card was sent by Laerke who visited the island a few weeks ago. 

Printed and published by J. Salmon Ltd, Sevenoaks, Kent

These are some images of the Isle of Wight: Freshwater, Mottistone Manor, Wolvertor Manor, Bembridge Mill, Appulducombe House and Osborne House. 

NL-2749737, NL-2743280 & NL-2745125

Officials from the Netherlands. 

NL-2749737, sent by Hans.

Veere is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands, on Walcheren island in the province of Zeeland. 

On the card there's the Town Hall building. It was built in 1474 and it has a 48-bell carillon. 

Art Unlimited.Com * Photo: © 2006 Gerry Hurkmans

NL-2743280, sent by Anoeska.
A bridge somewhere in the Netherlands... or maybe not!

© Hannah Anthonysz-Nesselaar

NL-2745125, sent by Nadja.

De Hef (which means lever) is a steel railroad bridge that connects the Noordereiland Island in the river Maas with the Southern district Feyenoord in Rotterdam. The Hef bridge Rotterdam was built in 1877 as a moving swing bridge to connect railroad traffic in the North of the Netherlands with the South. De Hef was part of a long railroad bridge that ran straight through the city of Rotterdam. 

In 1918, a German steamship ran into the swing bridge and destroyed it. The original lift bridge was replaced by a movable swing bridge which was completed in 1927. De Hef Rotterdam was the first rail bridge of its kind in Western Europe. De Hef is operated by two 60 meter high towers with huge concrete counterweights to lift the bridge deck. This construction allows big ships to pass under the bridge.

In 1993, the Willems railroad tunnel was opened to replace De Hef in Rotterdam and other railroad bridges. Nowadys trains pass the river Maas underwater and a big part of the city of Rotterdam underground. Nowadays De Hef is not in use anymore, but you can still see the railroad tracks at the bridge. The Hef bridge in Rotterdam is always open for visitors and is a Dutch national heritage site. - in: http://www.cityguiderotterdam.com/things-to-do/sights/de-hef-rotterdam/

NL-2737996 & DE-2817917

Foxes from the Netherlands and Germany. 

Cardselect Publishers

NL-2737996, sent by Madcy.

The fox is a scavenger carnivours dog, generally found in urban city areas in the northern Hemisphere. The fox is a nocturnal mammal, meaning that the fox only goes out a night to hunt for prey.

Wild foxes tend live for around 6-7 years, but some foxes have been known to be older than 13 in captivity. The wild fox hunts for the mouse and other small mammals and birds, but foxes appear to enjoy all species of insect.

Author: Sonata Kuncaité

DE-2817917, sent by Verena.

A fox is generally smaller than other members of the dog family like wolves, jackals and domestic dogs. Foxes can be a pest in the cities as foxes are often seen tearing into rubbish. 

There are around 12 different species of fox found around the world, which include the urban fox or red fox, the beautifully white Arctic fox, the sand fox which is a light-coloured fox found in desert regions and the tiny yet big eared fennec fox. - in: http://a-z-animals.com/animals/fox/

DE-3644029 & DE-3494248

Officials from different parts of Germany. 

© Werbeverlag R.

DE-3644029, sent by Heike.

Bad Endorf is a municipality in the district of Rosenheim in Bavaria in Germany. The relatively small town is located about 15 km outside of Rosenheim and is in close proximity to the Chiemsee lake and its larger shore towns, Prien, Gstadt, and Seebruck. - in: wikipedia

Foto by Michael Pasdzior

DE-3494248, sent by Bettina.

Bunthäuser Spitze light was built in 1914 and has been inactive since 1977. The  hexagonal pyramidal wood tower is 7 m (23 ft) high with lantern and gallery; an external stairway provides access to the gallery. The tower painted green, the lantern is red and the gallery railing is white. 

The Bunthäuser Spitze is a narrow point of land dividing the Norderelbe and Süderelbe, the northern and southern branches of the Elbe, on the southeast side of Hamburg. The lighthouse marked this point for boats bound downstream. The tower now houses equipment used for monitoring the flow rate of the river. The building was restored in 1989 as part of the celebration of the 800th anniversary of Hamburg harbor, and it was repainted and repaired in 2007. - in: http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/deu2a.htm

Nuremberg - Germany

Last month Ara sent 3 days in Nuremberg and she said the city is lovely. I must agree and I've to put it on my must visit list. Actually, I've just checked the map to see exactly where the city is located and not only the city itself is very interresting but there's also another worth to visit places nearby. Humm... now I'm thinking I should go to Germany again soon ;) 

 © Schöning GmbH & Co. KG  * Foto: s. Gödecke

Weinstadel half-timbered building set along the River Pegnitz.

The building was erected 1446/48 to house lepers who were allowed into the city for three days at Easter, during which time they received food and clothing and medical attention.

After ca 1571, the building was used to store wine - hence the name. It later served as workhouse and spinnery and to lodge poor families. In 1950 it was turned into student housing, whereby the internal structural substance was virtually obliterated. - in: http://tourismus.nuernberg.de/en/sightseeing/places-of-interest/further-places-of-interest/d/weinstadel.html

5th International Bielefeld Meeting

The 5th International Postcarossing Meeting in Bielefeld took place almost a month ago. Like in the previous years, many postcrossers, from many countries, joined the meeting and had lots of fun. This year I've received this 2 cards, the 1st sent by Paula and the 2nd by Grace. 

 © Schöning GmbH & Co. KG 

On this card is possible to see the Old Town Hall, the Old Market Square, Marien Church, Linen Weaver Statue, Sparrenburg castle and two other constructions that I can't identify.

Foto: Andreas Lechtape

Münster is also a city in North Rhine-Westphalia.

St. Paul's Cathedral was built in the 13th century in a mixture of late Romanesque and early Gothic styles. It was completely restored after World War II. It includes an astronomical clock of 1540, adorned with hand-painted zodiac symbols, which traces the movement of the planets, and plays a Glockenspiel tune every noon. - in: wikipedia
The tall, dark tower belongs to St Lambert's Church (1375). 

La Gruyère Lake - Switzerland

Last month I complained I wasn't getting enough cards and just because of that, Óscar sent me this one!! That was very kind of him and I trully liked the card.

Edition G. Fleury

Lake Gruyère is one of the prettiest artifical lakes in Switzerland. 

Lake Gruyère is a lake in the La Gruyère region of the Canton of Fribourg. 

The reservoir was formed between the cities of Bulle and Fribourg, by building the Rossens Dam on the Sarine river in 1948.