Ramsau - Germany

Officials from Germany, both showing St. Sebastian Church in Ramsau. 

 

  

© fisfra | Benutzung unter Lizenz von fotolia.de

 DE-9656453, sent by Dorle.

A lovely snowy view card from Ramsau in the Bavarian Alps, located in the district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria, close to the border with Austria. The church of Ramsau, parish church of Saint Sebastian, is often on postcards and looking at these cards I can understand why.

 © Premium/FB-Rose

 

DE-3385458, sent by Karin.

The church is consecrated to the saints Sebastian and Fabian. It was built in 1512 under provost Gregor Rainer and was extended in 1692 in the baroque style. It has a tower with baroque onion shaped tower which is covered like the whole church with wooden shingles. - in: http://www.berchtesgaden-online.com

Wertheim - Germany

My penpal Tanja has recentely been to Wertheim. As I told her that I've never heard about this town, she sent me this card so that I could see and learn a bit about it. 

 

Wertheim is a small town in the southwest of Germany, at the northern border between Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavaria. The town is locatet at the mouth of the river Tauber into the river Main.

© Schöning GmbH & Co. KG

High above the town, with an astonishing view over the valleys of Main and Tauber, there is Wertheim Castle which is the landmark of the town. Today the castle is just a ruin (on of the oldest fortress ruins in Baden-Wuerttemberg), formerly it was the residence of the Earls of Wertheim, an noble dynasty which died during the 16th century, and the castle was finally destroyed during the Thirty Years' War in 1634. During the 1980s the castle was reconstructed and opened to the public. It's worth a visit for sure.

But not just the castle is worth a visit - it's one of the most beautiful city centers in Germany at all which makes Wertheim so advisable. Numerous half-timbered houses - one more beautiful than the other, and which you can't take your eyes off. Some of them go back to the 16th century! - in: http://www.hivino.travel/discover-germany

Rugen Island - Germany

Rügen is Germany’s largest island by area. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

 

Foto by Bianca Lohr

 

DE-9601016, sent by Anne.

Rügen has a maximum length of 51.4 km (from north to south), a maximum width of 42.8 km in the south and an area of 926 km². The coast is characterized by numerous sandy beaches, lagoons (Bodden) and open bays (Wieke), as well as projecting peninsulas and headlands.

DE-963065, sent by Michaela "michigirl".

The island of Rügen is part of the district of Vorpommern-Rügen, with its county seat in Stralsund. The towns on Rügen are: Bergen, Sassnitz, Putbus and Garz. In addition, there are the Baltic seaside resorts of Binz, Baabe, Göhren, Sellin and Thiessow.

 

Atelier Schumann 

In June 2011, UNESCO awarded the status of a World Heritage Site to the Jasmund National Park, famous for its vast stands of beeches and chalk cliffs like King’s Chair, the main landmark of Rügen island. - in: https://germanculture.com

Petit Minou Lighthouse - France

Both these cards came from Russia but both depict a lighthouse in Britanny, France. The Petit Minou Lighthouse is loocated at Plouzané, a Breton municipality of Finistère. 

RU-8056256, sent by Alyona.

In front of the fort of the same name, and connected by a stone bridge, the maritime building indicates the route to follow in order to enter the bay for boats wishing to go to the port of Brest.

RU-7967073, sent by Tatiana.

Built in the mid-nineteenth century, it was fully automated in the late 1980s. Built in ashlar stone of the Aber Ildut, this cylindrical tower rises to a height of twenty-six meters on the ground.

The white tower in front of it was once used as a tower of the semaphore of the Navy, before it was moved to the tip of Portzic in 1984. - in: https://www.france-voyage.com

Brittany's headdresses - France

Nice card from France depicting the coiffes de Bretagne, Brittany's headdresses. The card was sent by Damien.

 

Brittany is a historical region in the north-west of France, with a population of just over 4 million people. This small region is famous for its variety of traditional costume, officially there are 66 of them. Essential part of the women's costume is a headgear called coiffe. There are more varieties of coiffe than of costume, because for a young woman of marriageable age, for a married lady or for a widow coiffe must be different. They vary in size and complexity, from small pieces of lace worn over a bun, to elaborate, towering creations with flowing ribbons, but there is something common between them all: they are of white colour and mostly are made of lace (sometimes embroidered calico is used instead).

Editions D'Art

Each village and region has singularities in the coiffe, which tell the others about where the woman is from. And the names of the headdresses come from the names of those regions. 

The use of such headdress disappeared quite recently, and even in the 50s, their use was still common. Nowadays no one wears coiffe in everyday life anymore (except for a few older women in some villages), but during festivals the Breton women still, like a hundred years ago, cover their heads with lace, ribbons, cones and caps.- in: https://local-moda.blogspot.com

Val d'Aran - Spain

From the sunny beach views of Mallorca island, to snowy mountain views in Val d'Aran. Both these cards have been sent by Gemma, who visits this region every now and then.

 

Val d’Aran is located in the Central Pyrenees and it has the characteristic of an Atlantic slope valley; due to this, its main river, the Garona, makes its way through Aquitaine lands and flows into Bordeaux (France). 

Val d’Aran has an extension of 620 km and 30% of its territory is above 2.000 m of altitude. 

Val d’Aran consists of 33 villages where a hint of maturity in the wood, the slate and the stones is mixed up with the beauty of intense nature in the mountainous and alpine landscapes. Each of them have their own characteristics which are put out especially in their towers and steeples.

It is one of the most notable villages of High Aran due to its two churches, Sant Joan and Santa María, and its quaint old town with some of the most stately Renaissance houses of the Valley. Not to mention its active and vibrant bars and restaurants. Sant Joan is a harmonius combination of the purest Gothic style while Santa María is a good example of the superposition of different styles from its older Romanesque nave to its splendid Gothic 5 story bell tower with its grand clock. - in: https://www.visitvaldaran.com

Mallorca - Spain

Mallorca is the largest island in the Balearic Islands archipelago, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The island is a popular holiday destination for the portuguese and also for tourists from Germany and the United Kingdom. 

This not my kind of place to visit but I admit that the landscapes are really beautiful. That's exactly what Gemmam, Vera and Ara said. 

 Tullio Gatti Photo Gallery www.canarias-foto.com

Mallorca is the largest and most densely populated of the four Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera) which form the Spanish Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, east of mainland Spain.

 

Tullio Gatti Photo Gallery www.canarias-foto.com

The immense natural beauty together with Mediterranean weather (hot dry Summers and mild Winters) are the main reason why this Island has been so popular as a holiday destination.

© Ediciones Costa de Mallorca, S. L. 

We also enjoy a very diverse landscape from the rocky Tramuntana Mountainous region in the North-West to the flat plains in the centre of the Island. The beautiful beaches, varying resorts and range of sports and tourist activities provide a multitude of options for visitors. This is the reason why so many tourists return to the Island year after year! - in: http://www.mallorca-now.com/

Postal Plus

 Originally the town of Colonia Sant Jordi was an agricultural and fishing village with tourists only starting to choose this destination as a holiday spot in the 1950s. Colonia Sant Jordi and neighbouring Ses Salines are famous for their extraction of salt and both towns carry this symbol in their town coat of arms. Salt is still extracted using traditional methods each year during a festival in August.

Colonia de Sant Jordi is now a busy resort. The fishing harbour is still a major part of the town and its small beach looks out over several islets, with good views all the way to the Cabrera Archipelago. - in: https://www.seemallorca.com/colonia-de-sant-jordi