One Day - Two Hemispheres

Another royalty stamp brought me my latest postcard. This stamp came on a postcard from sent by Ieva in Edinburgh, Scotland. She just recently moved to Edinburgh and says that she just loves it. What she likes most about the city is how it looks at night. The whole city lights up, Ieva said. The locals call it "the festive city" because of all the lights.

The picture on the postcard Ieva sent is the Forth Railway Bridge. It is just outside the city near the Firth (estuary) of Forth (river). Construction began on this suspension bridge in 1879 and was open for railway business in 1890. Thanks, Ieva, for the card of the amazing Forth Railway Bridge.

The second postcard I received yesterday comes from Sao Paulo, Brazil. This is my second card I have received from Sao Paulo. David sent me this postcard that shows three of the major buildings in this large metropolis. He even put the names of the buildings. The Italia building is on the left, the Copan building (wavy building) in the center and the Hilton hotel to the right (circular building). Thank you David, for letting me see yet another part of this fabulous city.

Autumn in (not New) England (I mean, Wales)

My latest postcard comes from David in Great Britain. He is a scientist (physics, biology) who lives in a town southwest of London. He describes himself this way: "War baby", rather lazy, well-travelled, scientist, physicist, pianist. Very interested in complex systems, their development, and in the way biology "always wins". Interesting.

Anyway, these were the two stamps on the postcard David sent. For those of you who do not know, RAF stands for "Royal Air Force."

The postcard David sent is of Snowdonia, Wales (Eryri, Cymru in Welsh). It is a place where his family goes on holiday and is located in North Wales. The back of the card says that Snowdon summit is in the distance. It seems to me that this picture was taken in the fall. Thanks again, David, for the beautiful postcard.

Whaling Village of Lahaina, Maui

My friend, Carolynne from Stockton, California sent me this card. It was a nice surprise as I was not expecting it. She said that she heard about Hurricane Ike and wondered if I had been effected by the storm. I sent her a postcard back and said that we received no rain from Ike. Thank you, Carolynne for your concern and for sending me this lovely card of Lahaina on the isle of Maui. Lahaina is an old whaling village.

Moomins

Looky! I got my first Moomin stamp. For those of you who do not know, the Moomins are a series of characters from the mind of Finnish artist Tove Jansson. The Moomins began as a series of comic books and were instantly a hit. Now, they can be seen in cartoons, TV, movies and now there is even a Moomin theme park. Moomins are everywhere in Finland. They can be found on stamps, dinnerware, T-shirts, postcards, etc. Moomins are very popular amoung postcrossers as well.

The Moomin stamp was attached to this beautiful card from Anna who lives in Vaasa, Finland. Vaasa is on the western coast of Finland. She said she wanted to send this card because it shows the changes of the Finnish landscape as autumn has come to Finland. She said the water is clearer, the air fresher and all the trees are colored in yellow and red. Anna also said that she is happily participating in the mushroom and berry picking season. Thanks Anna for the lovely card and the lovely description of autumn in Finland.

The "Bear" Necessities

I received this grizzly bear card in the mail today from Mike (who has a moose for his avatar for postcrossing!) who lives in the northern part of Montana near the Canadian border. He said he looked around and for some reason could not find a moose card (I put in my profile that I like anything moose) for me and hoped the I liked a card with a grizzly bear instead. Yes, Mike, I do like the card. Bears (and mooses) are necessities in my life!

Fables of the Exotic East

Two cards from Singapore in a matter of two weeks! This lovely card shows the famous Raffles Hotel in Singapore and was sent to me by Chen. Chen is Chinese but is in Singapore working on his PhD at the National Unviersity of Singapore. The Raffles Hotel was built in 1887 and although has gone through renovations from time to time, has pretty much stayed intact since 1887. It has played host to many dignataries through the ages as well as used extensively in movies and TV shows. It reminds me a little of the Hotel Galvez on Galveston Island, however, that hotel was built in 1911. Thanks again, Chen, for helping me learn even more about Singapore. (Hey, that rhymes!)

Autumn Falls Over the Land

My latest postcard is a beautiful autumn picture sent to me from Marjatta in Turku, Finland. She said that it is September there in Finland and so the land is very colorful and beautiful. It seems so. I have seen autumn in New England, autumn in Wisconsin and autumn in Michigan. Boy, wouldn't it be nice to see autumn in Turku, Finland? Thanks, Marjatta for helping me see autumn in Finland.



After Autumn comes Winter which is what Marjatta may have been thinking when she used this beautiful stamp on my postcard.

My First MOOSE Card

Kerttu from Tampere Finland sent me this BEAUTIFUL moose card. Now, I know what you are thinking? How can a moose be beautiful? Don't you remember the song, "Everything is beautiful....in its own way...."? Well, I like moose(es). Come and see my apartment and you will see that I like them. Plus, they are part of God's creation. Thank you, Kerttu for the card.

Here is the stamp that was on the back of Kerttu's card. I see that she put it on sideways and I forgot to "rotate" it when I scanned it, so you may have to turn your head to see it correctly. I haven't quite figured out what it is yet. You might "comment" and let me know.

San Francisco Parking

Molly from San Francisco sent me this postcard. She said she took this photo near her house She said she cant seem to get enought of retro-looking signs. Thanks Molly for sharing your interests with me.

Below is the stamp that was on Molly's postcard. She said that these are her dogs and that they are such drama queens. Charlie wouldn't know anything about that, would he??

The Many Faces of Northern Europe

My two latest postcards come from the Netherlands (Holland) and Finland. Auke from Almere, Holland sent me the above view. Almere is a town near Amsterdam. Auke says that this postcard has "some typical dutch views." And I love each one of these dutch views. Along with lighthouses, windmills are one of my favorite views! Thanks again, Auke!

Niina (no, that is not a misspelling) from Vaala, Finland sent me the postcard below. She said her country is very beautiful and that they have four seasons (wish we had that in Texas!) and it is currently autumn. Her town has a population of only about 3500 but she thinks it is great because almost everybody knows each other.

The church is this picture is known in Finland as Saraisniemen Kirkko. Thanks again, Niina.

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Jessica from Brazil sent me this beautiful postcard of the large neogothic cathedral in downtown Sao Paulo (St. Paul in Portugese), where she lives. She said that the cathedral is in the heart of downtown and is surrounded by buildings. It has a huge square which is really beautiful. She said she loves to go to the square and visit the cathedral. Thank you Jessica, for helping me visit the cathedral too.

The Lion City - Uniquely Singapore

One of the next beautiful postcards I received comes from Hin, who is from Singapore. The postcard says that it is a picture of the Central Business District (or the CBD, as the locals call it), along with the Merlion, which is the most famous tourist attraction in Singapore. Here is what I learned about the Merlion and the origin of Singapore's name. Enjoy!

The Merlion was first designed as an emblem for the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (STPB) in 1964 – the lion head with a fish body resting on a crest of waves quickly became Singapore’s icon to the rest of the world.

Designed by Mr Fraser Brunner, a member of the souvenir committee and a curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium, the lion head represents the lion spotted by Prince Sang Nila Utama when he re-discovered Singapura in 11 AD, as recorded in the "Malay Annals". The fish tail of the Merlion symbolises the ancient city of Temasek (meaning “sea” in Javanese) by which Singapore was known before the Prince named it “Singapura” (meaning “lion” (singa) “city” (pura) in Sanskrit), and represents Singapore’s humble beginnings as a fishing village.

Measuring 8.6 metres high and weighing 70 tonnes, the Merlion statue was built from cement fondue by the late Singapore craftsman, Mr Lim Nang Seng. A second and smaller Merlion statue, measuring two metres high and weighing three tones, was also built by Mr Lim. The body was made of cement fondue, the skin from porcelain plates and eyes from small red teacups.

The Merlion and the Cub were originally located at the mouth of the Singapore River, across from the Elizabeth Walk, just 120 metres from their present location. Also called the Merlion Park, the area soon became a popular tourist attraction and took its place among the famous landmarks of great cities of the world. Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the then Prime Minister of Singapore, officiated the installation ceremony of the Merlion on 15 September 1972. A bronze plaque commemorated the auspicious occasion with the inscription, "The Merlion has been erected as a symbol to welcome all visitors to Singapore".

Today, the Merlion attracts more than one million visitors a year who make the trip to the Merlion Park to photograph this world famous icon at her new home, at the adjacent to One Fullerton.

The name Singapore comes from the Malay words Singa and Pura [10], which in turn comes from the Sanskrit words singa सिंह siṃha ("lion") and पुर pura ("city"). According to the Malay Annals, this name was given by a 14th century Sumatran prince named Sang Nila Utama, who, landing on the island after a thunderstorm, spotted an auspicious beast on the shore, which his chief minister erroneously identified as a 'singha' or lion.[11] Recent studies of Singapore, however, indicate that lions have never lived there, not even Asiatic lions; the beast seen by Sang Nila Utama was most likely a tiger, probably the Malayan Tiger.


The Merlion lion is also seen on the stamp that was on the back of Hin's card. Thanks Hin for helping me in learning more about your beautif city.

Chios and Cathedrals

I have a number of postcards to catch up on. I knew September was going to be busy. So here are my latest additions to my collection. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

This beautiful postcard was sent to me by Aris and his wife, Chania from Greece. He said he is originally from Athens but he and his wife now live on the island of Crete. This postcard comes from the Greek isle of Chios. This is Aris's mother's birthplace and the place where he spent his holidays as a child. He said that the isle of Chios is famous for producing mastic, an aromatic resin that is harvested from the mastic tree. The mastic tree is related to the pistachio tree. Chios is the only place in the whole world where mastic is produced. Mastic is used in a wide variety of items from edible - cakes, cookies, bread, toothpaste, gum - to nonedible items - cosmetics, paints, varnish. Some scholars believe the Hebrew work bakha from the Valley of Baka pertains to the mastic tree and its resin.

Thanks Aris for helping me learn more about Chios, Greece and the Mastic tree. Thank you also for the beautiful stamp that came with the card.

My next postcard comes from Mia who lives in North Wales. She said that this cathedral is about 10 miles from where she lives. It is a beautiful example of Norman architecture (see what else I know!). Of course, the name of the cathedral is wonderful too as Bangor is also a city in one of my favorite states - Maine. Mia also told me that she sent me her last cathedral stamp (below) because she knew I liked churches and cathedrals. Thanks again, Mia.

Horses and Harleys, Summer to Fall

As the calendar says and the maple leaf on this card says, it is almost autumn. However, you could not tell that from the temperature outside down here in Texas.


Anyway, Mari from Finland, who is 17 years old sent me this card. She said that they are beginning to experience Autumn in Finland and she is back in school. She says she misses the summer but can't wait for winter so she can go skiing. She chose this card because she likes to go horsback riding. Thanks, Mari.

Cyndi from Oregon sent me this card of Mt. Rushmore in Autumn. She and her husband went to Mt. Rushmore this summer on vacation. They ride their Harley Davidsons across the U.S. You go girl! She said that she and her husband had not been to Texas but need to come. Yes, you do.

This card was addressed to Cinnamon1 and Charlie! His first postcard! He is so proud! Cyndi said she used to breed and sell toy poodles. She said that "Charlie is a cutie!" Yes he is.

From Egypt to Europe and Beyond

Here is my most recent postcards that I have received. Life happened and I got a little behind AGAIN! I have not received any postcards for several days now, so maybe if I catch up with this blog, it will bring me luck.

This beautiful and unusual card was sent to me by Dr. M. Hossam El-dean, a surgeon in Egypt. This place is called Sakkara and is a necropolis of one of the rules of the old kingdom of Memphis. Memphis is a kingdom? I thought it was a city in Tennessee. Anyway, Dr. El-dean hopes that I can travel to Egypt some day. He thinks it would be unforgetable. You're telling me!!

Below is the beautiful fine arts stamp that was on the postcard.

AHHHH! Schoene Deutschland!

The back of the postcard says Wurzburg - Alte Bischoffstadt, am schoenen Main glegen. Something about Wurzburg being an old city on the pretty Main River. After that, I am not sure what it says. However, Verena sent this beautiful card to me. I love map cards. They are one of my favorites. Thanks, Verena.

Another beautiful postcard from Germany. This time the card comes from Hansestadt Hamburg. Hansestadt refers to Hamburg being one of the free (Frei) trading cities that were a part of the Hanseatic League. The League was established during medieval times to promote a consumer economy free from government influence and heavy taxation. (Bet you thought I didn't know anything about the Hanseatic League!). Hamburg along with Dresden are both Freistadts. See previous card from Dresden, Germany. Marlen from Hamburg sent me the card and said that Hamburg is a "fantastic place to spend a life- or only a holiday." She also said that Hamburg is the city with the most bridges worldwide (approximately 2,300). Wow, that is alot of bridges to cross! Thanks, Marlen, for the beautiful card. You can also see the stamps that were on the back of the card.