Monthly Fav. Surprise RR - February '26

Cards from Germany, Finland and Israel.

 

www.papersisters.de

Grace sent me a new HP card.

2026, year of the horse, is a year full of events. When it comes to sport, the year started with the Olympic Winter Games in Italy; in July we can expect great soccer matches in the Canada, USA and Mexico World Cup - go Portugal - and in September, Germany will host the Women's Basketball World Cup. 

The astronomy lovers will look to the sky to see Artemis II orbit the moon and a lunar and solar eclipse in August. 

The 100th anniversary of the birth of Queen Elizabeth II, the 100th anniversary of the death of Claude Monet and the 7th anniversary of World Postcard Day  are also happening this year.

Lookphotos / Sabine Lubenow

Red Cliff on Sylt is a wonder of the North Sea. Card sent by Nicole.

It is an impressive landmark and popular photo motif on the island. Due to its unique colour, the Red Cliff on Sylt used to help sailors find their way around the North Sea. The imposing cliff stretches for around four kilometres. It is around 30 metres high and lies on the beach between the villages of Wenningstedt and Kampen. The reddish colouring of the limonite sandstone cliff is particularly fascinating in the evening light. - in: https://placesofgermany.de

 

 I don't have much to say about this castle because I already have and posted a few cards of it, I actually already had this card. The other one was an official received many years ago and this was sent by Minna.

Olavinlinna Castle is an impressive 15th-century three-towered castle located in Savonlinna. Built on an island, it is the northernmost medieval stone fortress in the world.

Michelle sent this card from USA but this beautiful church is actually located in Mount Tabor in the holy land. Church of the Transfiguration is believed to be connected to an event mentioned in the Gospels, where Jesus speaks with Moses and Elijah. 
The current Franciscan church was designed by the Italian architect Antonio Baraluzzi and completed in 1924. It was built on the remains of an ancient Byzantine church refers to the 6th century, and a 12th century refers to the crusader period. - in: https://jm-tours.com

Monthly Fav. Surprise RR - January '26

 The MFS RR started quite well this new year and I've received all the January and February cards. These are from Russia, Finland, Belgium and the Netherlands.

 

 Besides choosing a nice card, Natalya also used great stamps to send it.

Opened in 1870, Belorusskiy station is one of nine main railway hubs in the heart of Russia. Interestingly, this railway terminal first welcomed the returning Soviet soldiers who also brought the news about the victory over Germans in 1945. Today this transportation joint provides connections between Moscow and such great destinations across the country as Smolensk, Rybinsk, Uglich, Anapa, Voronezh, and Rostov-on-Don. Did you know that Belorusskiy station is often called the Russian “gate to Europe”? Apart from domestic routes, the train station also serves international routes interlinking the capital with Berlin, Warsaw, and, surely, Minsk, the biggest city in Belarus. - in: https://www.russiantrains.com

 

Photo: Esko Pärssinen

I've been to Helsinkiin June but if you visit it in winter, you might have the chance to slide down the steep snowy stairs of the cathedral. I bet it is as fun for kids as adults. Leena has never tried it though.

 

 

The Ardennes, which stretches to the South and East of Wallonia, is a real paradise for nature lovers and undeniably the most enchanting part of Belgium. 

The hills offer, here and there, a rugged, windswept wilderness. Elsewhere, the gaze meets with thick forests, deep river valleys sprinkled with gorgeous villages. Head a little further on and you will in turn, marvel at spectacular underground cave systems and green peaks. 

 And almost everywhere you venture, you come across traces of the two World Wars. - in: https://visitwallonia.com

Card sent by Lara.

 

Before choosing which card to send me, Miriam checked my online album of windills, and was able to send this one that I still didn't have.

De Hoop is a former grain and hulling mill, located at the Vlissingsbolwerk in MiddelburgThe mill probably owes its somewhat bulky appearance to the fact that it was restored after a fire in 1755. De Hoop was probably built lower than it originally was. The mill continued to operate actively on the wind until 1920.  

In 1940, De Hoop was again severely damaged. In 1954, the mill was restored as a standing monument. Since 1988, it has been able to operate again thanks to extensive restoration work. This is still done sporadically by millers. - in: https://www.uitinmiddelburg.nl

CA-1655106

 I'm not a big fan of Leonard Cohen, but I really like urban art and that's why this card was on my favorites wall. 

On the occasion of the anniversary of his death on Nov. 7, 2016, Leonard Cohen was honoured by mural, located on Crescent Street in the heart of Montréal.

 

Photo by Jocelyn Léonard

CA-1655106, sent by Andrea.

The mural is the result of a collaboration between two artists: El Mac, the internationally renowned American “street“ portrait artist, and Gene Pendon, a Montreal-based artist with a fine arts degree from Concordia University. Montreal residents and visitors can admire the city’s largest mural from several key viewpoints. 

The mural is a part of MU’s Tribute to Montreal‘s Great Artists series.  - in: https://artpublicmontreal.ca

Bandiagara Cliffs - Mali

 I finally started to receive cards and I believe more will arrive this week, including from new UNESCO sites. 

This one arrived quite fast. It was sent by Svenja from Germany but the card depicts a UNESCO site in Mali, the Bandiagara Cliffs, on the WHS list since 1989. 

 

The Bandiagara escarpment, Land of the Dogons, is one of the most impressive geological, archaeological and ethnological landscapes in West Africa. It is a ‘mixed’ site, listed on both natural and cultural criteria. It is characterised by a 150km-long sandstone cliff, with a rocky plateau on top, and a sandy plain below.

Getty Images / Timothy Allen

The plateau varies in height from 100 m to over 500 m and is broken by ravines, gorges and rocky passages connecting the plain with the plateau. The escarpment itself is rich in plants and vegetation types which have been destroyed by man in more accessible places. These are mostly relict humid species sheltering in the ravines in an otherwise arid Sahelian climate, including several endemic species. The area was occupied centuries ago by the Dogon people, who have retained their traditional animist beliefs, culture, and unique architecture. The cliff protects beautiful houses, granaries, altars, sanctuaries and communal meeting-places which for centuries have been the heart of traditional Dogon culture. - in: https://www.naturalworldheritagesites.org

Djerba - Tunisia

 Well, well, things have been a bit slow lately. And why is that? Because I'm not getting postcards. Since the beginning of the year, I must have only received about 4!! One of them was this postcard from the island of Djerba, in Tunisia, which was classified as a World Heritage Site in 2023. 

For me it would be enough just to have a postcard from the there, but when I tagged Veerle I didn't realized she was going to send it from Tunisia. It was a nice suprise. I think I just have one of two cards written and sent from there.

This serial property is a testimony to a settlement pattern that developed on the island of Djerba around the 9th century CE amidst the semi-dry and water-scarce environment. Low‑density was its key characteristic: it involved the division of the island into neighbourhoods, clustered together, that were economically self-sustainable, connected to each other and to the religious and trading places of the island, through a complex network of roads. Resulting from a mixture of environmental, socio-cultural and economic factors, the distinctive human settlement of Djerba demonstrates the way local people adapted their lifestyle to the conditions of their water-scarce natural environment. - in: https://whc.unesco.org

Leopard cub - South Africa

 Claus was only supposed to send me the Turkemenistan cards but he also sent this extra cute card, one of my favs too. 

The Leopard – Panthera Pardus – Is another of the Big Cat Species and in South Africa it is known to be the smallest member of the Big  5.

 

 Photo: Chris Daphne

They're probably Africa's most beautiful and elusive cats, seldom seen due to their solitary behaviour.
Of all the big cats, they are the most at home in trees where they rest or store their prey out of reach of lions and hyenas. 

Male leopards defend large territories which overlap the territories of two or even three females. Females defend their territories against other females. Young are born any time of the year as they are non-seasonal breeders.

Leopard cubs are born after a gestation period of three and a half months and females usually give birth to two or three cubs in hidden lairs of natural holes or thick bush. The Leopard mother takes great care to hide the cubs from predators like Lion, Cheetah and Hyena, who would jump at the chance to make an easy meal of the cubs.

Cubs stay with the mother for at least a year, during which time they learn the ways of the wild and how to survive on their own. . in: https://www.krugerpark.co.za

The best places to see leopards in South Africa are:
- Sabi Sands Game Reserve: Renowned for the highest density of leopards and the best, most habituated, and relaxed viewing opportunities on the continent.
- Kruger National Park: Offers excellent chances, particularly in the southern regions and around riverine areas.

- Private Reserves: Phinda Private Game Reserve (KwaZulu-Natal), Shamwari Game Reserve (Eastern Cape), and Karoo National Park (Western Cape) are top locations.
- Cape Fold Mountains: The Cederberg Wilderness is home to the smaller, elusive "Cape Leopard.

Meana Baba Mausoleum - Turkemenistan

 The second card Claus sent me is this one with the Meana Baba Mausoleum, located in Kaahka district.

 

This mausoleum is
 a sacred site linked to one of the most influential Sufi mystics of the Islamic world:
 Abu Sa‘id ibn Abi’l-Khayr al-Mayhani (967–1049 CE). 
Born in the town of Mayhana — now Meana —
he became known here as Meane Baba, the “Father of Meana.”
The mausoleum, built in the 11th century,
 still holds the atmosphere of devotion — with its rare double dome, colorful ornament, and traces of ancient calligraphy.
 - in: https://ayan-turkmenistan.travel