BY-219469

Another official, this one from Belarus.

BY-219469, sent by Anna.

Church of Saints Simon and Helen is a Roman Catholic church on the Independence Square in Minsk, Belarus.
The church was built in 1905-1910. The construction was financed by Edward Woyniłłowicz, a prominent Polish and Belarusian civic activist. The church was named and consecrated in the memory of Woyniłłowicz's departed children Szymon (Simon) and Helena (Helen).

In 1923 the church was robbed by the Red Army and in 1932 it was closed down by the Soviet authorities and transferred to the State Polish Theatre of the BSSR. Before the Second World War the church was reconstructed into a film studio.

In 1941 the German occupation administration allowed the church to be used, but after the war it was closed down yet again.

In 1990 the building was given back to the Catholic Church. Since then it was renewed and became an important centre of religious, cultural and social life. It also became a centre for the revived Belarusian Greek Catholic Church. - in: wikipedia

FI-1166115

This is an huge card. I guess my postman was extra carefull when he put it in my mailbox.

FI-1166115, sent by Britta.

Quarried out of the natural bedrock, Temppeliaukio Church is one of Helsinki's most popular tourist attractions. The interior walls are created naturally by the rock. The church was designed by architects Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened in 1969. Due to its excellent acoustics the church is a popular venue for concerts. - in: http://www.visithelsinki.fi/In_English/Visitor/See/Main_attractions.iw3?showmodul=162&Matko_pid=227

DE-998841

On the same day we had the meeting in Sintra, a few german postcrossers were also having a meeting in Ulm, a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube.

This is an official and a meeting card!

DE-998841, sent by "kaffeetante".

The card was sent by "kaffeetante" and signed, if i understood correctly the signatures, by "christine", "difemo", "venia" "nitrin" and "angeleye".
The card shows the Wiblingen Abbey, a former benedictine abbey in the suburb of Wiblingen in the south of Ulm. The church shows characteristics of late baroque and early classicism. Its library is a masterpiece of rococo.
This former benedictine abbey was founded in 1093 was later used as barracks. Today its buildings house several departments of the medical faculty of the University of Ulm, a museum and the south wing of the abbey, having been rebuilt in 1917, is part of the local network of municipal retirement homes.

Marie & Ula Meeting

Marie "renegade_cavalcade" was on a trip around Europe and she visited some countries. Poland was one of them and she had the opportunity to meet Ula "ulpa", one of our GTKY friends. They sent me this beautiful card with the Sigismund's Column in Warsaw.

Sigismund's Column, erected in 1644, is located in Castle Square, Warsaw, Poland. It is one of Warsaw's most famous landmarks and one of the oldest secular monuments in northern Europe. The column and statue commemorate King Sigismund III Vasa, who in 1596 had moved Poland's capital from Kraków to Warsaw.

On the Corinthian column (which used to be of red marble), 8.5 m high, a sculpture of the King, 2.75-metres high, in archaistic armour is placed. Sigismund's Column now stands at 22 metres and is adorned by four eagles. The king is dressed in armor and carries a cross in one hand and wields a sword in the other.
On 1 September 1944, during the Warsaw Uprising, the monument was demolished by the Germans, and its bronze statue was badly damaged. After the war the statue was repaired, and in 1949 it was set up on a new column, made of granite from the Strzegom mine, a couple of metres from the original site. The original broken pieces of the column can still be seen lying next to the Royal Castle. - in: wikipedia

Meetings with Karina

Karina aka kazinhabueno, is a postcrosser from Brazil and we, some portuguese addicted postcrossers, met her last week.

Last friday, Karina and her husband had a guided tour around Lisbon with Graça "gracinha". She guided them throught some of the most emblematic landmarks of the city. I guess it was a nice way to see the city, as it was their 1st time there. Postcrossers are great touristic guides.

Graça sent me this card.

Later that day they went to a fado restaurant to have dinner, hear fado and meet other postcrossers. They met José "pilotOne", Carole "cloable", Rita "rita_simões", Helena "leninha", Luís "ludovico" and Joana "joaninha".

They signed cards again and this one was sent by José.

I met them next day, saturday, in Sintra. It's always great to visit Sintra but this time the weather wasn't that great. Even with lots of fog we visited the Pena Palace. Visiting the Montserrat Palace (on the card) was also an option but i didn't have time to go there as i had a train to catch back to my city.
That day it was Karina and her husband, me, Susana "susanaportugal", Joana "joaninha", Ana "ninocas" and family, Rita "rita_simões" and her boyfriend, Vitória - who sent me this card - and her husband and José "pilotOne".

For me the day ended next to this building, the Town Hall. It was great to meet Karina and meet again my portuguese friends.
New meetings will probably happen in the next weeks.

25th of April Bridge - Portugal

Today i've only received this beautiful card. Like the previous one, it was also sent by Susana. This is another card signed a few weeks ago during one of the meetings with Déa.

The 25th of April suspension bridge in Lisbon, Portugal is one of the world's longest suspension bridges at 1.5 miles (2.2 kilometers) long. Built in 1966, its reddish-orange color makes it look like San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. However, other than the color, it more closely resembles the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, and was constructed by the builders responsible for this "other" Bay area bridge.

The 25th of April bridge was originally named for Portugal's right-wing dictator, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, who ruled from 1932 to 1968. After Portugal's 1974 revolution, residents who supported the revolution started calling the bridge the 25th of April bridge to celebrate the change in power on April 25, 1974. Citizens loyal to Salazar's party continued to call it the Salazar bridge, and those who didn't want their politics known just called it "the bridge over the river". - in: http://cruises.about.com/od/europeancruises/ig/Lisbon-Portugal/lisbon005.htm

A Toxa - Spain

Two or three weeks ago Susana "SusanaPortugal" when to Galiza, an autonomous community in northwest Spain, and she sent me this card from there.

La Toja ("Toxa" in Gallego) is a little island in the "rias baias" (lower bays) connected to the Galician mainland by a carriageway elevated above the sea. Although small and only a couple of hundred metres from shore, it is a well known and popular destination for Galician holiday makers. - in: http://www.galiciaguide.com/La-toja.html