Last officials of the month

I got these 2 official cards today.

This is my 1st official card from Finland this year.
FI-509474, sent by "minicape". This the room in late Empire inside Turku's Castle.

And this is my 1st official card from Japan.

JP-61855, a beautiful winter landscape in Nagano sent by "paper".

"Nagano is located in the northern part of the prefecture near the confluence of the Chikuma and the Sai rivers, on the main Japanese island of Honshū.
In 1998, Nagano hosted the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, the second Winter Olympics ever held in Japan and the first since 1972 when the Winter Games were held in Sapporo, also the site of the first Winter Olympics ever held in Asia." - in: wikipedia

Rock Garden - Japan

I've finally uploaded all the cards i received last week. After a week with lots and lots of card, today i got none but i guess i can't complain about it.

Last friday i've received another card from Elisabete "moonwoolf". The 1st time we traded she sent me an austrian card and now she sent me a japanese card.

This is the famous Rock Garden of Ryōan-ji, a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto. The temple is one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

"The garden is 30 meters long from east to west and 10 meters from north to south. There are no trees, just 15 irregularly shaped rocks of varying sizes, some surrounded by moss, arranged in a bed of white gravel/sand that is raked every day.
The rocks of various sizes are arranged on small white pebbles in five groups, each comprising five, two, three, two, and three rocks. The garden contains 15 rocks arranged on the surface of white pebbles in such a manner that visitors can see only 14 of them at once, from whichever angle the garden is viewed." - in: wikipedia

Mauro's cards

Mauro found my blog once and he sends me cards every now and then. Last friday i got another envelope from him. This time he sent me 2 cards from Teresina, the capital city of the Piauí state in the northeastern region of Brazil, and a photo card from Japan.

This cards features a bridge that accesses João XXIII Avenue.

And now a partial view of the Poti river and Antonino Freire Avenue.

The NHK Broadcasting Center, headquarters of NHK, is located in Jinnan, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It includes studios and offices, as well as shops and the popular Studio Park, which is a popular attraction for schoolchildren and tourists.

Mulu National Park - Malaysia

I've received a lot of cards this week but i've busy and tired to upload all the cards. I just got home from a wedding and my eyes are closing....i'll try to write a few posts before going to bed.

I got this malaysian unesco card last wednesday or thursday. Is my 1st unesco from there and it was sent my Ilyani "imajica" a new and dear friend from the GTKY gang :P

"Gunung Mulu National Park near Miri, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that encompasses incredible caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial rainforest setting. The park is famous for its caves and the expeditions that have been mounted to explore them and their surrounding rainforest, most notably the Royal Geographical Society Expedition of 1977 - 1978, which saw over 100 scientists in the field for 15 months.
Within Gunung Mulu National Park is the world's biggest natural enclosed space - Sarawak chamber, found in Gua Nasib Bagus. It is 2,300 feet (700 m) long, 1,300 feet (396 m) wide and at least 230 feet (70 m) high; according to the guides it is big enough to fit St. Peter's Basilica or several jumbojets inside. Other notable caves are Benarat Cavern, Deer Cave, Wind Cave, and Clearwater Cave, which exposes parts of a long underground river going through the park." - in: wikipedia

DE-310268

This is the official card i've received thursday. We can hardly see but this is a view of the Pegasus Fountain at the Luisium Palace's park in Dessau.

"Prince Franz dedicated this small and intimate park to his wife Luise, born Princess of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1750-1811). Classical and Neo-Gothic buildings harmonise with the artistically designed landscape and combine to form an ensemble of exquisite quality." - in: http://www.dessau.de/amt41/kulttour/en/garden_realm/luisium_palace_and_park.html

Photo contest cards

More 3 cards from the photo contest. The belgium card was sent by Raquel "ferro", the brazilian by Valéria "vbformig" and the spanish by Mario "marioGV". Thanks, the cards are great :D

This is a night view of the Market Place in Brussels and its flower carpet.
The Grand Place is one of the world's most beautiful squares and every two years is covered with a carpet of 800,000 fresh begonias for a few days in the middle of August.

A beautiful card from Salvador with Itapuã lighthouse, built in 1873.

Another card with a lighthouse, in this case the Fisherman Lighthouse in Santoña, a village in the western coast of the autonomous community of Cantabria, on the north coast of Spain.

Vila Nova de Milfontes - Portugal

Américo "valdagua" is my regular postcard pal and these are the last cards he sent me. All these cards are from Vila Nova de Milfontes, a town 115 km south to Lisbon.

These cards show the Mira river. "The river has its sources on the northern slopes of the Serra do Caldeirão and pursues a southeast-northwest course with a generally mild inclination to the Atlantic Ocean, where it discharges through a small calm delta near Vila Nova de Milfontes.

It is one of the two only rivers in Portugal with a chiefly south-north orientation (the other being its neighbour Sado) and one of the few rivers in Europe with this orientation.

Distributary streamlines run perpendicularly along the coastline and discharge directly to the Atlantic Ocean." - in: wikipedia

Portuguese cards

Today i've received 4 cards, 2 of them from Portugal.

This one is another photo contest prize and it was sent by Tiago "MaFiAs". "The Casa dos Bicos is a historical house in the city of Lisbon, in Portugal. The house, built in the early 16th century in the Alfama neighbourhood, has a curious façade of Renaissance and Manueline influence. It has survived the disastrous 1755 Lisbon Earthquake that destroyed much of the city." - in: wikipedia

I also have a postcard blog in portuguese and 1 of the posts is a gigantic wishlist of specific portuguese places and monuments. Joaquim "kosta28" saw that wishlist and sent me this card with Leça da Palmeira lighthouse, also known as Boa Nova lighthouse.

New Unescos from Japan

I've been received a lot of new unesco cards latelly. If i'm not mistaken, i've cards from 250 unesco world heritage sites world the world.

These are the last unesco cards i've received, new japanese sites sent by Adriana "recadosdri".

Itsukushima Shrine is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima (popularly known as Miyajima) in the city of Hatsukaichi in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. "The Unesco decided to reward this shrine, because it is: "the supreme example of this form of religious centre, setting traditional architecture of great artistic and technical merit against a dramatic natural background and thereby creating a work of art of incomparable physical beauty." Since ages, the island is known as a holy place for Shintoism. The first shrines were probably built there in the 6th century. The current one dates from the 13th century. The orange color of the wooden building contrasts beautifully with the green mountains and the blue sea. Most famous part of the shrine is the so-called floating Torii, the photogenic orange-colored gateway which stands in the water in front of the shrine." - in: http://worldheritagesite.org/sites/itsukushimashrine.html

"Yakushi-ji is one of the most famous imperial and ancient Buddhist temples in Japan, located in Nara. The temple is the headquarters of the Hossō school of Japanese Buddhism. Yakushi-ji is one of the sites that are collectively inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, under the name of "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara."
The original Yakushi-ji was built in Fujiwara-kyō, Japan's capital in the Asuka period, commissioned by Emperor Temmu in 680 to pray for recovery from illness for his consort, who succeeded him as Empress Jitō. This act of building temples in devotion to Buddhist figures was a common practice among Japanese nobility when Buddhism was first imported from China and Korea. Emperor Temmu had died by the time Empress Jitō completed the complex around 698; and it was disassembled and moved to Nara eight years after the Imperial Court settled in what was then the new capital." - in: wikipedia

Rietveld Schröder House - Netherlands

It's been a while since i've received a card from Netherlands. This is a new unesco card, sent by Jetske as a prize for beeing the winner of the photo contest on the portuguese commmunity.

"The Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht was commissioned by Ms Truus Schröder-Schräder, designed by the architect Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, and built in 1924. This small family house, with its interior, the flexible spatial arrangement, and the visual and formal qualities, was a manifesto of the ideals of the De Stijl group of artists and architects in the Netherlands in the 1920s, and has since been considered one of the icons of the Modern Movement in architecture.
The Rietveld Schröderhuis in Utrecht is an icon of the Modern Movement in architecture and an outstanding expression of human creative genius in its purity of ideas and concepts as developed by the De Stijl movement. With its radical approach to design and the use of space, the Rietveld Schröderhuis occupies a seminal position in the development of architecture in the modern age." - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/965

TW-39210

I've been receiving a lot of official cards from Taiwan these last days, and i've received another one today. This is the Taroko National Park and the card was sent by Chen.

"Taroko National Park is one of the seven national parks in Taiwan and was named after the Taroko Gorge, the landmark gorge of the park.
The park was originally established as the Tsugitaka-Taroko National Park by the Governor-General of Taiwan on December 12, 1937 when Taiwan was part of the Empire of Japan. After the Empire of Japan's defeat in World War II, the Republic of China assumed control of Taiwan. The ROC government subsequently abolished the park on August 15, 1945. It was not until November 28, 1986 that the park was reestablished." - in: wikipedia

New Unesco cards

This week started with a new unesco whs card from China, Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area.

CN-58945 - sent by "DJK".
"Wulingyuan is a scenic and historic interest area in Hunan Province, China, famous for its approximately 3,100 tall quartzite sandstone pillars, some over 800 meters in height, which are a kind of karst formation. It is part of Zhangjiajie city, about 270km from the capital of Hunan Province, Changsha. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. Wulingyuan forms part of the Wuling Range." - in: wikipedia

Lamego - Portugal

In the portuguese community on the postcrossing forum, we've a photo contest each month. Everyone can send their pictures and the participants will vote for the best picture. The winner will receive 1 card from all the participants. Last month the theme was "show your city" and i was the lucky winner. Today arrived the 1st card, sent by Zé "zepombal".

Zé knows i like churches and cathedrals and he sent me this one from Lamego, new in my collection.

"The most significant moment in Lamego's history was in 1143, when nobles declared Afonso Henriques to be Portugal's first king. The town's Gothic cathedral was built by him, although only the Romanesque tower is left from the original building, with its carved Renaissance portal and fine cloister dating from the 16th and 18th centuries." - in: http://www.golisbon.com/portugal/cities/lamego.html

TW-39219

I've received this official card from Taiwan today. This is an ad card so i can't say much about it. I don't collect ad cards but this one looks like a normal viewcard and a picture in nice.

Europe RR - UK

Ana "ninocas" opened a few weeks ago the castles RR and a few days later she opened the Europe RR. Today i've received the 1st cards of the special group 1 for 3 unwritten cards in an envelope. These cards have been sent by Andy "duplevista".

Solva is a village in Wales. "This is an attractive and picturesque little village with a small sheltered harbour, a variety of small shops selling crafts, clothes, etc., pubs and eating places. Solva stands in a deep valley gouged out by water melting from glaciers and its position made it ideal as a base for trading ships in the 18th century.
When the tide is in, the valley fills slowly with water but when the tide goes out, the boats are left high and dry - ideal in the past for unloading cargoes. Today, apart from a few local fishermen, the harbour is used only by pleasure craft." - http://www.touristnetuk.com/WA/PEMBS/towns/solva.htm

On the back of the cards - East and West Looe: Twin town terraced on the shores of the Looe river which winds its way to the harbour. The older part of East Looe is a maze of narrow streets and gabled houses. The medieval Guildhall and a lovely 17th century house are of great interest. There is still surviving in West Looe a small 14th century church and a smuggler's inn, the "jolly sailor". The coastline faces south with sands well protected by the cliffs providing infinite possibilities for boating, bathing and fishing.

"Gairloch is a small village on the shores of Gair Loch on the northwest coast of Scotland. A popular tourist destination in the summer months, Gairloch boasts a golf course, a small museum, several hotels, a community centre, a leisure centre with sports facilities, a local radio station, beaches and nearby mountains." - in: wikipedia

Official cards

Latelly i've been sending a few official cards and i started to receive some cards yesterday.

DE -303758, sent by Petra.
I got this one today. This is the Sababurg Castle in northern Germany.

"The Dornröschenschloss Sababurg, castle of the "Sleeping Beauty", invites fairytale fans with castle garden, battlement, climbing of the tower, ruins of the palace and Wurzgarden. The fairy tale walk "Sleeping Beauty" inspires big and small guests with the fairy tales of the brothers Grimm. If you want, you can stay the night in the castle Sababurg because today it is a hotel." in: http://www.weserbergland-tourismus.de/en/entdeckertipps/burgen-schloesser/

SE-9170 from Merja.

This is my 1st official card from Sweden but is my 2nd card from Merja because we've already traded on the forum.

"Skokloster Castle, built in the baroque style between 1654 and 1676, is one of the mayor monuments from the period when Sweden was one of the most powerful countries in Europe.
Since the owner, General Carl Gustaf Wrangel, died in 1676 the castle was never really completed. This is a fact that you can see by your self - just visit the banqueting hall which remains in the exakt same conditions, tools included, as the builders left it the same day as Wrangel died (the builders were afraid they that they would never get paid).
Also the rest of the castle has remained amazingly untouched for more than 300 years, giving this building a unique authenticity. Wrangel and the following owners collected items like armoury, books, silver and textiles, as well some artifacts from south america. Everything is left intact since late 1700th century.
Skokloster is considered one of the great castles of Baroque Europe." - in: http://www.stockholmmuseum.com/museums/castles/skoklosters-slott83.htm

Ravenna - Italy

Today i've received this beautiful unesco card, a new unesco from Italy. Thanks Katja "maggiolino". This is the S. Vitale Basilica, one of the eight early Christian monuments of Ravenna are inscribed on the World Heritage List.

"The Church or Basilica of San Vitale is the most famous monument of Ravenna and is one of the most important examples of Byzantine Art and architecture in western Europe.
The church was begun by Bishop Ecclesius in 527, when Ravenna was under the rule of the Ostrogoths, and completed by the 27th Bishop of Ravenna, Maximian in 548 during the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna.
The church has an octagonal plan. The building combines Roman elements (the dome, shape of doorways, stepped towers) with Byzantine (polygonal apse, capitals, narrow bricks, etc). However, the church is most famous for its wealth of Byzantine mosaics, the largest and best preserved outside of Constantinople itself. The church is of extreme importance in Byzantine art, as it is the only major church from the period of Emperor Justinian to survive virtually intact to the present day; furthermore, it is thought to reflect the design of the Byzantine Imperial Palace Audience Chamber, of which nothing at all survives." - in: wikipedia