Gent - Belgium

Gent is one of the cities i want to visit next month in Belgium. Only 44 days to go :D

I'm getting quite a few cards from Belgium these last weeks. The 1st card was one of my favorites and it was sent by Mirjam "jasmyn" and the 2nd by Raquel "ferro".

Gent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of northern Europe. Today it is a busy city with a port and a university.
On the card there's the St. Nicholas Church and the Belfry seen from the St. Michael Bridge.

Much of the city's medieval architecture remains intact and is remarkably well preserved and restored. Its centre is the largest carfree area in Belgium. Interesting highlights are the Saint Bavo Cathedral with the Ghent Altarpiece, the belfry, the Gravensteen castle, and the splendid architecture along the old Graslei harbour. Ghent established a nice blend between comfort of living and history – it is not a city-museum. The city of Ghent houses also three béguinages and numerous churches, among which the Saint-James' church, the Saint-Nicolas' church and the Saint Michael's church are the most beautiful examples.

The beguinages, as well as the belfry and adjacent cloth hall, were recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites in 1998 and 1999. - in: wikipedia

Cochem's Reichsburg Castle

Reichsburg Castle is known as the Majestic Jewel of the Mosel River Valley and is considered one of the most visually impressive castles of Germany. Looking at this postcard i really understand why. This was a favorite and it was sent by Tanja "Grisu".

The Reichsburg Cochem had its first documentary mention in 1130. In 1151, it was occupied by King Konrad III, who declared it an Imperial castle. In 1688, the castle was overrun by French King Louis XIV's troops in the course of the Nine Years' War (known in Germany as the Pfälzischer Erbfolgekrieg, or War of the Palatine Succession), and the following year, they destroyed it. The castle complex long lay in ruins before in 1868 it was bought by the Berlin businessman Louis Fréderic Jacques Ravené for 300 Goldmark and then reconstructed in the Gothic Revival style. Since 1978 it has been owned by the town of Cochem and is administered by a company named Reichsburg GmbH. - in: wikipedia

IT-140921

I don't know why but i didn't visit the Vittorio Emanuele Gallery when i was in Milan back in 2005. I guess someone told me it was only shops, expensive shops and i didn't find it interresting. If i ever visit the city again i've to go there!

IT-140921, sent by Denis.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is one of the most elegant and stylish shopping malls in Italy with cafes, restaurants and shops. The Galleria is topped by a glass roof and links Piazza del Duomo with the Teatro alla Scala.
The shopping arcade is named after Vittorio Emanuele II who was the first king of Italy. Giuseppe Mengoni designed The Galleria in 1865 and it was built by 1877. The Galleria has an octagonal shape adorned with mosaics and a magnificent glass roof. The floors are decorated with mosaics of the signs of the zodiac. - in: http://www.gothereguide.com/galleria+vittorio+emanuele+milan-place/

BY-213301

This card could have been a problem because there's no information in english but Marina translated the text on the front of it. Thanks to her i can say this is a card from Grodno.

BY-213301, sent by Marina.
On the front of the card: Enbankment of the river Neman.

EE-109911

Yesterday i've received 4 cards, 2 of them were officials and this was one of them. It's a card from Tallinn, Estonia with the Kadriorg Palace.

EE-109911, sent by Ella.

Catherinethal ("Catherine's valley") is a Petrine Baroque palace of Catherine I of Russia in Tallinn, Estonia. It was built by Tsar Peter I in the 18th Century for his empress, Catherine. Italian architect Niccolo Michetti was flown in (business class) from Rome especially, to make sure that the Palace was the gleaming red Ferrari of stately homes - with plenty of baroque splendour, stuccoed ceilings and landscaped gardens all round. In the 20th century the Estonian version of the name, Kadriorg, gained currency and came to be applied to the surrounding district.

Today the beautifully red and white adorned palace is home to the foreign art collection of the Estonian Art Museum. A most lovely and splendid garden belonging to the palace is an ideal place to spend many hours to stroll around. Just across the flourishing garden you will find the office building of the Estonian president.

FI-1142632 & FI-1160737

Finnish landscapes are really relaxing, that's my kind of place! Cottages in the middle of nowhere, a lake, trees... I guess somewhere in the forest i could find a mushroom like the one on the 2nd card.

FI-1142632, sent by Carina.

FI-1160737, sent by Tarja.

Tarja says this is an Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric, a poisonous and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species
Although generally considered poisonous, deaths are extremely rare, and it has been consumed as a food in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America after parboiling in water.
The red-and-white spotted toadstool is a common image in many aspects of popular culture, especially in children's books, film, garden ornaments, greeting cards, and more recently computer games. Two of the most famous uses of the mushroom are in the video game series Super Mario Bros., and the dancing mushroom sequence in the 1940 Disney film Fantasia. - in: wikipedia

NL-710444

After a beach i've a lighthouse! I've been receiving a lot of lighthouse cards from Netherlands and this one is really nice. It's the Breskens Lighthouse, also known as Nieuwesluis light.

NL-710444, sent by Marco.

The lighthouse was designed by the dutch lighthouse archtect Q. Harder. He was responsable for a number of other Dutch lighthouses. The building started in 1866 and was finished a year later in 1867. Breskens is the oldest remaining cast-iron lighthouse in the Netherlands after the lighthouse of Renesse which was build in 1856 was broken down in 1915. During te Second World War the Breskens lighthouse was out of operation. After the War is came in operation again with a light in a red and green sector. Before the lighthouse was painted with black white stripes as it is today, it was yellow and later on it had red and white stripes. During the Second World War it was even painted in camouflage colours. - in: http://www.woonwebsite.nl/ideepagina/ideeen_popup.php?id=406