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