Christmas cards

On Christmas time a lot of Christmas cards arrived. All of them are great. Thank you all :D

These are the cards sent by Katy "katts1985" from Estonia, Carol "adobe" and Lori from USA, Essi "hadassah" from Finland, Maritere "maritekia" and M. Angeles "maer" from Spain, Laura "laurarual" from the Netherlands, Márcia "magl" from Portugal, Marie "renegade_cavalcade" from Canada, from Germany Claus "elbe" and Charlotte "purple_girl" from UK.

Unesco gift

A few days ago i've received an envelope from Germany with these cards. I couldn't believe when i realized that all of these cards were new unesco cards and from places not so easy to get. This was a great Christmas present. The generous postcrosser was Claus, "elbe" a trully Santa Claus :D Vielen Danke.

" Uxmal is a large pre-Columbian ruined city of the Maya civilization in the state of Yucatán, Mexico.

While much work has been done at the popular tourist destination of Uxmal to consolidate and restore buildings, little in the way of serious archeological excavation and research has been done; therefore, the city's dates of occupation are unknown and the estimated population (about 25,000 people) is at present only a very rough guess subject to change upon better data. Most of the architecture visible today was built between about 700 and 1100.

Maya chronicles say that Uxmal was founded about 500 A.D. by Hun Uitzil Chac Tutul Xiu. For generations Uxmal was ruled over by the Xiu family, was the most powerful site in western Yucatan, and for a while in alliance with Chichen Itza dominated all of the northern Maya area. Sometime after about 1200 no new major construction seems to have been made at Uxmal, possibly related to the fall of Uxmal's ally Chichen Itza and the shift of power in Yucatan to Mayapan. The Xiu moved their capital to Maní, and the population of Uxmal declined. After the Spanish conquest of Yucatán (in which the Xiu allied themselves with the Spanish), early colonial documents suggest that Uxmal was still an inhabited place of some importance into the 1550s, but no Spanish town was built here and Uxmal was soon after largely abandoned." - in: wikipedia

" Tucked away amid the modern urban area of Cairo lies one of the world's oldest Islamic cities, with its famous mosques, madrasas, hammams and fountains. Founded in the 10th century, it became the new centre of the Islamic world, reaching its golden age in the 14th century." - in: http://www.unesco.org/ 

Cheomseongdae Observatory in South Korea is one of the oldest structures in Korea. 'Ch'eomseongdae' means 'Star Gazing Tower'. Designated as National Treasure 31, it was built during the reign of Queen Seonduk of the Old Silla kingdom in 634. Cheomseongdae Observatory is the oldest existing observatory in the Far East and one of the oldest scientific installations on earth.
Cheomseongdae is part of the Gyeongju Historic Areas, an Unesco whs since 2000.

PT 3rd travelling envelope

These are the cards i've got from the 3rd travelling envelope in the portuguese community. The postcrossers in this group were valdagua, joaninha, nelsonpsoares, luciano, Carla and me.

This is a card from the brazilian capital city, Brasília.

A typical street in Sintra, Portugal.

And a card from London with the St. Paul's Cathedral.
"St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral on Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The present building dates from the 17th century and was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. It is generally reckoned to be London's fifth St Paul's Cathedral, all having been built on the same site since 604 A.D. The cathedral is one of London's most famous and most recognisable sights at 365 feet high. It was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1962, and its dome is also among the highest in the world, St Peter's Basilica in Rome being higher. The Monument to the Great Fire of London, also designed by Wren and the tallest doric column in the world, would fit inside the cathedral's interior." - in: wikipedia

Alvor - Portugal

This was one of the cards in my favorites album and Ana "ninocas" sent it as a RAS card.

I really love it.

Thanks Ana.

West Karangasem - Indonesia

A card from Bali, Indonesia, sent by Relie.

Matekap is a process that uses cows to plough muddy paddy fields in Bali, however these days are getting harder and harder to find this rare activities. Famers prefer to use machine instead.

RU-92052

I really like churches and russian churches are always so beautiful, aren't they?
This is the St. Nicholas Church in Khamovniki.

RU-92052, sent by Alyona.

"Church of Saint Nicholas in Khamovniki is a late 17th century parish church of a former weavers sloboda in Khamovniki District of Moscow. The church is a federal listed memorial building. It marks the corner of present-day Komsomolsky Prospect and Leo Tolstoy Street, two blocks beyond the Garden Ring. The church yard occupies a whole block between Leo Tolstoy and Timur Frunze streets and includes a row of small old houses.

First records of a presumably wooden church on this site are dated 1625. The main five-domed church was built in 1679-1682; belltower and refectory were completed around 1694. Present day church sources claim that the belltower in Khamovniki is one of the highest tent-style belltowers in Moscow region.

The church is an example of late Muscovite Baroque that preceded short-lived Naryshkin Baroque of 1690s. It belongs to a numerous class of bonfire temples – church buildings without three internal load-bearing columns, crowned with layers of small circular kokoshnik-type gables. Each gable is a symbol of a heavenly fire (biblical thrones - angels or seraphs); a tightly packed group of gables is an architectural metaphore for the Throne of God." - in: wikipedia

Officials from USA

US-556761, sent by Sara.
This is a reproduction of an antique card from 1907.
"A Merry Christmas - Thine own wish wish I thee."
From the collection of Gabriela Oldham.

US-552943, sent by Michelle.

Saragatoga Spa State Park in Saragatoga Springs, New York.

Distinguished by its classical architecture, Saragatoga Spa State Park encompasses over 2000 acres of landscaped grounds, woodlands, streams and picnic areas, offering a multitude of recreation activities.

November RR - IX

More November RR cards.

This card from Switzerland arrived today. It wa sent by Grace "azzurri". I'll meet her and other postcrossers, next February in Zurich.... :P

Arosa is a municipality in the district of Plessur in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is known for being both a summer and a winter resort. Arosa possesses a well-known and safe skiing area and boasts over 60 kilometers (37 mi) of slopes.

No, this isn't an iceberg. Wissower Klinklen is, a chalk formation that can be found in the Jasmund National Park in the northeast of Rügen island. "The park is famous for the largest chalk cliffs of Germany, the so called Königsstuhl (German = "king's chair"). These cliffs are up to 161 m high above the Baltic Sea.
The Wissower Klinken, collapsed into the Baltic Sea on February 24, 2005 in a landslide caused by spring-thaw weather conditions." - in: wikipedia
The card was sent by "RikeH".

Anna "annab3783" sent me this card from Denmark with the Kronborg Castle, a new unesco whs in my collection :D.

"Kronborg is situated near the town of Helsingør (immortalised as Elsinore in Shakespeare's Hamlet) on the extreme northeastern tip of Zealand at the narrowest point of the Øresund, the sound between Denmark and Sweden. In this part, the sound is only 4 km wide, hence the strategic importance of maintaining a fortress at this location commanding one of the few outlets of the Baltic Sea. The castle has for centuries been one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and was added to UNESCO's World Heritage Sites list on November 30, 2000." - in: wikipedia

November RR - VIII

Finally some time to scan and post cards.
The November RR cards keep arriving, these are from Russia, Malaysia and Turkey.

Maria "raima" from Moscow sent be this card with the Tsar Bell.
"The Tsar Bell is a huge bell on display on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin. The bell was commissioned by Empress Anna, niece of Peter the Great.

The bell is currently the largest bell in the world, weighing 216 tons, with a height of 6.14 m ( 20.1 ft) and diameter of 6.6 m ( 21.6 ft). It was founded from bronze by masters Ivan Motorin and his son Mikhail in 1733–1735. The bell was never rung — during a fire in 1737, a huge slab (11.5 tons) cracked off while it was still in the casting pit.

After the fire, the bell remained in its casting for a century. In 1836, the Tsar bell was placed on a stone pedestal next to the Ivan the Great Bell Tower in the Moscow Kremlin. The broken slab is nearly three times larger than the world's largest bell hung for full circle ringing, the tenor bell at Liverpool Cathedral.

For a time, the bell served as a chapel, with the broken area forming the door. There has apparently been some talk of recasting it.

According to a National Public Radio special on the bell, some Old Believers believe that on Judgement Day, it will be miraculously repaired and lifted up to heaven, where it will ring the blagovest (call to prayer)." - in: wikipedia

Another card from Russia but this one is from St. Petersburg and it was sent by Lydia "lydusha".
"St. Michael's Castle also called the Mikhailovsky Castle, is a former royal residence in the historic centre of Saint Petersburg. St. Michael's Castle was built as a residence for Emperor Paul I by architects Vincenzo Brenna and Vasili Bazhenov in 1797-1801. The castle looks different from each side, as the architects used the motifs of various architectural styles such as French Classicism, Italian Renaissance and Gothic.
Afraid of intrigues and assassination plots, Emperor Paul I didn't like the Winter Palace where he never felt safe. Due to his personal interest in Medieval knights and his constant fear of assassination, the new royal residence was built like a castle with rounded corners in which a small octagonal courtyard is located.

After Paul's death, the imperial family returned to the Winter Palace; St. Michael's Castle was abandoned and in 1819 was given to the army's Main Engineering School (later to become the Nikolayevskaya Engineering Academy). Since then the building has been called the Engineer Castle. Between 1838 and 1843, the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky studied as a cadet at the Main Engineering School.

In the early 1990s, St. Michael's Castle became a branch of the Russian Museum and now houses its Portrait Gallery, featuring official portraits of the Russian Emperors and Empresses and various dignitaries and celebrities from the late 17th to the early 20th century." - in: wikipedia

This is a card from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. It was sent by "Yiphinwai".
On the card there's the Titiwangsa Lake, an artificial lake from one of old minning pool in the city. Many of these pools can be found in Kuala Lumpur because minning was the main economic activity during the foundation of the city.

The ferris wheel Eye on Malaysia was moved to Malacca.

I didn't have any cards with ferris wheels but received 2 through this RR. This card sent by Pinar "pinuccia" shows the Gençlik Park in Ankara, Turkey.
Gençlik Park is the oldest park in Ankara (1943). It used to be the only place for the residents of Ankara to enjoy the taste of nature, complete with pond and greenery.

This 38 hectares park is where today's middle-aged generation spent their youth. The park houses what once was the only amusement park in Ankara. There are also tea gardens, restaurants, outdoor cafes, outdoor theatre performances and a large pond on which you can row or water-cycle.

November RR - VII

This month had a lot of posts, this will be the last one, i think. 

 

In 3 years of postcrossing, this is my 1st aurora borealis card and this was one of my favorite cards. I'm really happy that Paula "xpaula" sent it to me :)

"Auroras, sometimes called the northern and southern (polar) lights, are natural light displays in the sky, usually observed at night, particularly in the polar regions. They typically occur in the ionosphere. They are also referred to as polar auroras. In northern latitudes, the effect is known as the aurora borealis, named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for north wind, Boreas, by Pierre Gassendi in 1621. The aurora borealis is also called the northern polar lights, as it is only visible in the sky from the Northern Hemisphere, the chance of visibility increasing with proximity to the North Magnetic Pole, which is currently in the arctic islands of northern Canada. Auroras seen near the magnetic pole may be high overhead, but from further away, they illuminate the northern horizon as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red, as if the sun were rising from an unusual direction. The aurora borealis most often occurs near the equinoxes; from September to October and from March to April.

Auroras can be spotted throughout the world. It is most visible closer to the poles due to the longer periods of darkness and the magnetic field.

Its southern counterpart, the aurora australis or the southern polar lights, has similar properties, but is only visible from high southern latitudes in Antarctica, South America, or Australasia. Australis is the Latin word for "of the South." - in: wikipedia

 

"The Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, popularly known as the Beefeaters, are ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London. In principle they are responsible for looking after any prisoners at the Tower and safeguarding the British crown jewels, but in practice they act as tour guides and are a tourist attraction in their own right, a point the Yeoman Warders acknowledge. Yeoman Warders began guarding the Tower in 1485; today there are 35 Yeomen Warders and one Chief Warder. All warders are retired from the Armed Forces of Commonwealth realms and must be former senior non-commissioned officers with at least 22 years of service. They must also hold the Long Service and Good Conduct medal." - in: wikipedia "Lonar Lake, which was created by a meteor hitting the Earth during the Pleistocene epoch, is a saltwater lake in Buldana district, Maharashtra, India. The crater thereby formed is the only hypervelocity meteoritic impact crater on basalt rock. A lake that evolved in the resulting basaltic rock formation, is both saline and alkalie in nature. Geologists, ecologists, archaeologists, naturalists and astronomers have reported several studies on the various aspects of this crater lake ecosystem. Lonar Lake has a mean diameter of 1.2 kilometres (3,900 ft) and is about 137 metres (450 ft) below the crater rim. The meteor crater rim is about 1.8 kilometres (5,900 ft) in diameter. The circular depression bears a saline water lake in its central portion. The crater's age is estimated to be 52,000 ± 6,000 years (Pleistocene). It is the second largest impact crater in basaltic rock and is partially filled by a salt water lake." - in: wikipedia The card was sent from India by "yeuxnoisette".

November RR - VI

I'm almost done with cards updates this week. Today i didn't get any mail because of our local holiday. Next cards will arrived monday, i hope ;)

Yukie "yukina" from Japan sent this mapcard of the Okinawa Island. Okinawa Island is the largest of the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, and is home to Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture. The 1st brazilian card of this RR is a card from Curitiba sent by "tarcício". Curitiba is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. The city has the largest population and also the largest economy in Southern Brazil. According to the American magazine Reader's Digest, Curitiba is the best place to live in Brazil. Also from the USA, is this Columbia card sent by Amanda "uscshameless". "Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina The population was 116,278 according to the 2000 census (2008 population estimates put the city at 127,029). Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into Lexington County. The city is the center of a metro area of 728,063. The city's name comes from a poetic synonym for America, derived from the name of Christopher Columbus." - in: wikipedia

NL-250795

This week i've only received this official card from the Netherlands.

NL-250795, sent by Mellody.

These are some lighthouses along the dutch coast.

1. Schiermonnikoog, built in 1853.

2. Ameland, built in 1880.

3. Terschelling, built in 1593.

4. Vlieland, built in 1876.

5. Texel, built in 1863.

6. Den Helder, built in 1877.

7. Egmond, built in 1834.

8. IJmuiden, built in 1878.

9. IJmuiden, built in 1878.

10. Noordwijk, built in 1921.

11. Scheveningen, built in 1875.

12. Maasvlakte, built in 1974.

13. Ouddorp, built in 1947.

14. Haamstede, built in 1837.

15. Westkapelle, built in 1470.

16. Westkapelle, built in 1875.

German unesco whs

I few days ago i tagged Nicole "sternchen84" on the "You Choose - 3 UNESCO WHS in an Envelope Tag" and requested 3 cards, these two are new in my collection.

"The Messel Pit is a disused quarry near the village of Messel, about 35 km southeast of Frankfurt am Main. Because of its plethora of fossils, it has significant geological and scientific importance. After almost becoming a landfill, strong local resistance eventually stopped these plans, and the Messel Pit was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site on 9 December 1995. Significant scientific discoveries are still being made, and the site has become an increasing tourism site as well." - in: wikipedia

"The Imperial Abbey of Lorsch in Lorsch, about 10 km (6 miles) east of Worms, was one of the most renowned monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ruined state, its remains are among the most important pre-Romanesque buildings in Germany. Its chronicle, entered in the Lorscher Codex compiled in the 1170s (now in the state archive at Würzburg) is a fundamental document for early medieval German history. Another famous document from the monastic library is the Codex Aureus of Lorsch. In 1991 the ruined abbey was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site." - in: wikipedia

Déa's birthday card

I've received new unesco cards, new national parks cards, new capital cities and i've also received a card from a new country as a birthday present.

This is a Guinea-Bissau card and it was sent by Déa, my dear friend from Brazil.

"The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in western Africa, and one of the smallest states in continental Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west.
Its size is nearly 37,000 square kilometres (14,000 sq mi) with an estimated population of 1,600,000. Formerly the Portuguese colony of Portuguese Guinea, upon independence, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country's name to prevent confusion with the Republic of Guinea. Guinea-Bissau's GDP per capita is one of the lowest in the world." - in: wikipedia

This is the Cacheu river, also known as Farim river.

"Its total length is about 257 km and its headwaters are near the northern border of the country, north of Contobeul and close to a bend of the Geba River. It runs west, by the town of Farim and close to Bigenè, and broadens into an estuary on whose south shore the of Cacheu may be found.

It is navigable to large (2,000-ton) ships for about 97 km in, and to smaller vessels much further; it was an important route for commerce." - in: wikipedia

Américo's birthday cards

From Alentejo, a south-central region of Portugal, came this card sent by Américo.

Américo said, this traditional singing group was singing me a birthday song ;)