Eltz Castle - Germany

These are two beautiful views of the Eltz Castle in Germany. I've bought the 1st card last April in Koblenz and the 2nd was a birthday give from Paula.

The Eltz Castle lies in the West of Germany, between Koblenz and Trier. It is surrounded on three sides by a river and still owned by the same family that lived here in the 12th century, 33 generations ago. The Eltz Castle features a museum and has an impressive collection of original furniture and artwork on display. The Knights Hall has armor dating back to the 16th century, and the original treasure vault is worth a visit.

Some floors and walls still have strong medieval plaster, consisting of ox blood, animal hair, clay, quick lime, and camphor.
The Castle was only attacked once, but never taken.
The Eltz family lives in one wing of the castle. - in: http://gogermany.about.com/od/sightsandattractions/p/Eltz_castle.htm

Britanny - France

Back to Europe with 2 french cards sent by Michelle "MICH29". Both are from Britanny, a large peninsula in the northwest of France.

Photo by V. Hache

La Vieille ("The Old Lady") is a lighthouse in the département of Finistère at the commune of Plogoff, on the northwest coast of France. It lies on the rock known as Gorlebella.
It is among the small class of lighthouses around the coasts of France carrying the moniker "hell", due to a remote position in rough seas.
Initial planning talks began as early as 1861, though the construction project was not confirmed until twenty years later. Fierce tides limited the period in which building work could take place to less than half of each year. After five years, construction was complete and its beam first shone in 1887. The light is occulting, with a range of 18 nautical miles (33 km); a foghorn was installed in the early twentieth century. - in: wikipedia

Éditions d'Art

Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Britanny in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon.

The card shows the aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle", the Recouvrance schooner and the city's castle.
Brest's castle is the oldest monument in the town, located at the heart of the roadstead of Brest, one of the largest roadsteads in the world. From the Roman castellum to Vauban's citadel, the site has over 1700 years of history, holding right up to the present day its original role as a military fortress and a strategic location of the highest importance. It is thus the oldest castle in the world still in use, and was classified as a monument historique on 21 March 1923.

Its structure has continually been rebuilt over the centuries to defend against all attacks by land and sea. Its heterogeneous architecture is thus the result of the defences' continual adaptation to new developments in siege warfare and armament. - in: wikipedia

Canyon de Chelly - USA

Another american card but this one was sent as a birthday card by Carol.

On the back of the card: "Fall foliage and a silver ribbon of water flowing in Chinie Wash enhance the beauty of the red rocks seen from Tsegi Overlook. "

Photo by George H. H. Huey

Canyon de Chelly National Monument was established on April 1, 1931 as a unit of the National Park Service. It is located in northeastern Arizona within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. Reflecting one of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes of North America, it preserves ruins of the early indigenous tribes that lived in the area, including the Ancient Pueblo Peoples (also called Anasazi) and Navajo. The monument covers 83,840 acres (131.0 sq mi; 339.3 km2) and encompasses the floors and rims of the three major canyons: de Chelly, del Muerto, and Monument. These canyons were cut by streams with headwaters in the Chuska mountains just to the east of the monument. None of the land is federally owned. - in: wikipedia

Chilean Patagonia - Chile

These 3 cards, sent by Daniela "Annie_Hall" are trully beautiful. The Chilean Patagonia is the most famous region of Chile and offers all the dramatic landscape one would expect from the world's ultimate land's end. Here the South American continent falls away in a dazzling explosion of islands, glaciers, icebergs and mountains.

Torres del Paine National Park is, without doubt, one of the most spectacular national parks in the country. A world biosphere reserve, it has a huge variety of plant and animal species.

Declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1978, the Torres del Paine national park (situated in the Magallanes 12th region in Chile) is internationally recognized as one of the most beautiful, unique and uncontaminated places on the planet. It is a place of lakes, rivers, waterfalls, glaciers, forests and incredible wildlife, all of which make it an exciting destination.

Undoubtedly one of the main attractions of the park is the Macizo (Massif) of Paine, formed predominately from granite and whose origin dates back millions of years. The most famous peaks of the park are called the ‘Cuernos’ (horns) and ‘Torres’ (towers) of Paine. - in: http://www.gochile.cl/en/national-parks/parks/torres-del-paine.html

The Lake General Carrera (Chilean side) or Lake Buenos Aires (Argentine side) is a lake located in Patagonia and shared by Argentina and Chile. The lake has a surface of 1,850 km² of which 970 km² are in the Chilean Aisén Region, and 880 km² in the Argentine Santa Cruz Province, making it the biggest lake in Chile, and the fourth largest in Argentina.
The lake is of glacial origin and is surrounded by the Andes mountain range. The lake drains to the Pacific Ocean on the west through the Baker River.

The lake is known as a trout and salmonidae fishing destination, and also for its Marble Cathedral (marble cave) located at the centre of the lake. - in: wikipedia

Hwaseong Fortress - South Korea

This card of the Hwaseong Fortress in South Korea, was one of the last Unesco cards i've received in the last days. It was sent from Estonia by "ossuusso".

Hwaseong, the wall surrounding the centre of Suwon, the provincial capital of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, was built in the late 18th century by King Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty to honour and house the remains of his father Prince Sado, who had been murdered by being locked alive inside a rice chest by his own father King Yeongjo having failed to obey his command to commit suicide. Located 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Seoul and enclosing much of central Suwon including King Jeongjo's palace Haenggung, UNESCO designated the fortress a World Heritage site in 1997. - in: wikipedia

West Lake - China

This is a lovely autumn view of the West Lake in China, sent by Twenty. The West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou was added to the World Heritage List this year.

The West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou, comprising the West Lake and the hills surrounding its three sides, has inspired famous poets, scholars and artists since the 9th century. It comprises numerous temples, pagodas, pavilions, gardens and ornamental trees, as well as causeways and artificial islands.
These additions have been made to improve the landscape west of the city of Hangzhou to the south of the Yangtze river.

The West Lake has influenced garden design in the rest of China as well as Japan and Korea over the centuries and bears an exceptional testimony to the cultural tradition of improving landscapes to create a series of vistas reflecting an idealised fusion between humans and nature. - in: www.whc.unesco.org/en/list/1334

PL-300693

An official from Poland with Krakow's barbican.

Photo by Piotr Syryca

PL-300693, sent by Magdalena.

The Kraków barbican is a barbican – a fortified outpost once connected to the city walls. It is a historic gateway leading into the Old Town of Kraków, Poland. The barbican is one of the few remaining relics of the complex network of fortifications and defensive barriers that once encircled the royal city of Kraków in the south of Poland. It currently serves as a tourist attraction and venue for a variety of exhibitions.
Based on Arabic rather than European defensive architecture, this masterpiece of medieval military engineering, with its circular fortress, was added to the city's fortifications along the coronation route in the late 15th century.
The Gothic-style barbican, built around 1498, is one of only three such fortified outposts still surviving in Europe, and the best preserved. - in: wikipedia

Carvoeiro Cape - Portugal

I've only received cards twice this week. I've received this on tuesday. It was sent by Vitória and it shows the Carvoeiro Cape and it's lighthouse. Cabo Carvoeiro lie at the westernmost point of the Peniche peninsula, next to the Atlantic ocean, in Peniche. It faces the Berlengas archipelago, integrated in a natural terrestrial and maritime reserve.

The 25 m high Cabo Carvoeiro lighthouse was erected at that place, because of the numerous shipwreck occurring there. - in: wikipedia

9th Postcrossing Meeting in São Paulo

At the beggining of last month some brazilian postcrossers had their 9th meeting in São Paulo. I believe i've received cards from all those meetings and like the previous ones, this was also sent by Déa. Valéria, Cinthia, Karina, Heloísa, Adriana, Renato and Daniel also signed the card.

The card shows some of the most famous brazilian locations, such us the Amazon, Rio de Janeiro, Iguaçu Falls, Brasília, Salvador da Bahía....

JP-208424

My last update of the night is this oficial from Japan.

© Unae Michiru /Aflo

JP-2088424, sent by Maika.

Fugenzan Meigetsu-in is a Rinzai Zen temple of the Kenchō-ji school in Kita-Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. Famous for its hydrangeas, it's also known as The Temple of Hydrangeas (ajisai-dera). The main object of worship is goddess Shō Kannon. - in: wikipedia

Yin Xu - China

This is the last Unesco card i've to show... for now, i'm waiting for a few new ones! Like the previous cards, this is also a card from a new Unesco place, Yin Xu in China. The card was sent by Twenty.

The archaeological site of Yin Xu, close to Anyang City, some 500 km south of Beijing, is an ancient capital city of the late Shang Dynasty (1300 - 1046 BC). It testifies to the golden age of early Chinese culture, crafts and sciences, a time of great prosperity of the Chinese Bronze Age. A number of royal tombs and palaces, prototypes of later Chinese architecture, have been unearthed on the site, including the Palace and Royal Ancestral Shrines Area, with more than 80 house foundations, and the only tomb of a member of the royal family of the Shang Dynasty to have remained intact, the Tomb of Fu Hao. The large number and superb craftsmanship of the burial accessories found there bear testimony to the advanced level of Shang crafts industry. Inscriptions on oracle bones found in Yin Xu bear invaluable testimony to the development of one of the world’s oldest writing systems, ancient beliefs and social systems. - in: www.whc.unesco.org/en/list/1114

Euphrasian Basilica in Porec - Croatia

I almost have all the Unesco sites from Croatia. With this card of the Euphrasian Basilica, sent by Mirna "pierresurleciel", i'm only missing Stari Grad.
The Euphrasian Basilica is a basilica in Poreč, Croatia. The episcopal complex, including, apart the basilica itself, a sacristy, a baptistery and the bell tower of the nearby archbishop's palace, is one of the best examples of early Byzantine architecture in the Mediterranean region.

The Euphrasian basilica has for the most part retained its original shape, but accidents, fires and earthquakes have altered a few details. Since it is the third church to be built on the same site, it conceals previous buildings, for example the great floor mosaic of the previous basilica from the 5th century. Because of its exceptional value, it has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1997. - in: wikipedia

Skellig Michael - Ireland

Ireland only has 2 places on the World Heritage List and thanks to Luca i've this card from one of them, Skellig Michael.

Photo by Liam Blake

Skellig Michael being founded in the 7th century, for 600 years the island was a centre of monastic life for Irish Christian monks. The Gaelic monastery, which is situated almost at the summit of the 230-metre-high rock became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. It is one of Europe's better known but least accessible monasteries.

Since the extreme remoteness of Skellig Michael has until recently discouraged visitors, the site is exceptionally well preserved. The very spartan conditions inside the monastery illustrate the ascetic lifestyle practiced by early Irish Christians. The monks lived in stone 'beehive' huts (clochans), perched above nearly vertical cliff walls. - in: wikipedia

NL-817217 & NL-843143

I didn't get any cards today. That's not a good way to start the week! I didn't get cards but i still have a lot to update and not much time to do that.

Photo © Fotolia * Gaby Jacob

NL-817217, sent by Nien.
Beach scenes somewhere in the Netherlands or somewhere else.

NL-843143, sent by Tanja.
Kromme Waal.

Dinant - Belgium

Dinant is one of the belgian cities i want to visit in a future trip to Belgium. Raquel "ferro" says it's really worth a visit.

The skyline of Dinant, a small town cozied up against the Meuse River, is dominated by its two main buildings: the Citadel, which overlooks the town from a 100 meter cliff, and the Cathedral of Notre Dame, outsized against the surrounding structures and capped by a bronze onion dome. The Citadel, built during the Dutch occupation c. 1820, is the second fortress to sit atop the strategic crest -- an earlier fortification was destroyed by the French in 1703.

© Edit. Thill, S.A.

A famous native of Dinant is Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone. The Belgian monarch King Albert I perished near Dinant in 1934 when he fell while rock climbing. The commune of Dinant has 13,000 residents, and is 25 kilometers south of the city of Namur. There are three ways to ascend to this military fortress perched on the cliff above the city of Dinant: by highway from behind, by a steep cable car ride, or by a 420 step staircase carved into the rock. At the top is a Museum of Armaments, plus dioramas, a collapsed shelter cave -- and an absolutely spectacular view of the Meuse River. There is also a restaurant, a terrace, and a play area for children.

The current citadel was built in 1820 by the Dutch. It replaced the ruins of the original fortification, built 1051 on the orders of the Prince Bishop of Liege to defend the Meuse against invaders, and torn apart in 1703. - in: http://www.trabel.com/dinant/dinant.htm

DE-1092646

The ID of this card is german but the card is from France.

Editions Meridionales

DE-1092646, sent by Jessica.

Agde is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France that is the Mediterranean port of the Canal du Midi.
Agde is known for the distinctive black basalt used in local buildings, for example the cathedral of Saint Stephen, built in the twelfth century to replace a 9th century Carolingian edifice built on the foundations of a fifth century Roman church. - in: wikipedia

Sant Joan de Caselles - Andorra

Last september Joana "joaninha" went to Barcelona to participate in the Eurobilltracker meeting. Once there she and a few other friends went to Andorra. She didn't have time to send a card from there but she sent me this one when she got home. It was one of my favorites.

Sant Joan de Caselles, also known as the Church of Sant Joan de Caselles, is a fine example of Andorran Romanesque architecture. The church was built between the 11th and 14th centuries, and its three-story bell tower is the tallest church tower in Andorra. magnificent three-storied bell-tower. It has Lombard windows on three sides on the upper two levels.
The tower was built separately from the rest of the church and was later joined to the church by a body of stone. - in: http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/Andorra/North/Canillo/Canillo/photo1052375.htm

Hangman

I finally have a weekend free of work. This would be a nice opportunity to go somewhere but i'm satying home instead. I've lots of postcrossing stuff to update and i'll start with this blog.

I've guessed two more sentences in the hangman's game and José "pilotOne" sent me these 2 cards, one from Vidago and the other from Porto.

Photo by Oswaldo Santos.

Vidago is a town located 12 kilometers south of Chaves in the district of Vila Real, Portugal. It is famous for its mineral waters and the Vidago Palace Hotel, once a favorite of the last Portuguese kings.
The church of Our Lady of Conceição was built in gothic revival style between 1940-1942.

Photo by H.Schlemmer.

The Rabelo boats are the symbol of the famous Port Wine and the trademark of the Port Wine Cellars.These boats were invented in the 9th century and were used for transporting the products from the farms of the Douro for centuries. 1964 was the last year in which these famous Rabelo boats made the last transport barrels of Port wine from the Douro to the caves located in Gaia
Nowadays there are many companies offering short cruises on a Rabelo and you can board on the Cais da Ribeira, or on the Vila Nova de Gaia side of the river. This is a unique experience which is recommended.