This is Rotterdam... but everything except for the white bridge --Erasmus Bridge--  is fake! There was a competition of the best city and this was the promotion card for Rotterdam made by Rivka de Jonge.

From time to time, there comes a card that puzzles you. This one, although beautiful and serene, came with my address printed, not written, four big stamps covering the remaining space and a rubber stamp drawing of a mascot saying "Take it Easy!" in the only free spot available. No handwriting at all, no text, no sign, no clue on their Postcrossing profile. Only a return address without a name -- and printed, of course.

Stein-am-Rhein is a small town located near the German border in the Northern shore of the Rhein, just a few km away from Lake Constance. On the card, the Old Town as seen from the river with the former Benedictine monastery church of St. Georgen's bell tower in the centre.

One animal stamp issued in 2012, the Beaver; one Wheat and two Barley. The three grain stamps are from the "Agriculture & Food" series issued in 2008. The other two stamps in the set that are missing show Rye (0.20 CHF) & Oats (0.50 CHF).

It is been awfully uncomfortable lately due to the high temperatures (39.8ºC) and humidity (50~80%). However, it won't rain -- I don't expect it to do so until late September. And summer has just started...  Tanja sent me this card a month ago and back then I didn't think I was going to look at it in such a sad mood as I do now. I wish I could spend my summer there!

A beautiful stamp from a beautiful country: first class postage Northern lights as seen in 67º 45' 44" N 23º 36' 43" E, sightly above the Artic Circle in 2009, near the Swedish border.

Three bullfinches in a bird shelter in the cold, cold Siberian winter. I usually show my postcards from Russia to my Russian classmate and she offers her help to identify locations or stamps, or sometimes a quick translation. She told me this is called the winter Russian bird, which appears in the cold season when other species migrate. Of course, it is my first time hearing from it. Another beautiful trip to the even more beautiful Mother Russia. ♪

On the back side, nine stamps cover half of the card! From left to right:

♪ Novgorod Kremlin from the Sixth Definitives series - RussianKremlins issue, 2009

♪ The Hare

♪ The Fox (six of them)

♪ Pyotr A. Stolypin 150th birth anniversary

This is a commemorative stamp for the 150th birth anniversary of the Prime Minister and agrarian reformer Pyotr Stolypin (1862-1911), later assasinated in the opera. On the background, the Russian flag and the Palace Square in St-Petersburg. For only one year, this stamp could have been also commemorative of his 100th death anniversary.

Postcard from: Tomsk, Siberian region, Russia.

Received: May 2012.

Language: English.

Envelope: no.

Stamps: nine!

Thank you very much, Andrey!

{RU-944045}

This week's theme is anything you wish

Stari Most

Mostar was named after the bridge keepers (mostari) who in the medieval times guarded the Stari Most (Old Bridge) over Neretva river. The Old Bridge, built by the Ottomans in the 16th century, is one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. It was destroyed during the Bosnian War in 1993 and rebuilt in 2004. The reconstructed Old Bridge and Old City of Mostar, UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a symbol of reconciliation, international co-operation and of the coexistence of diverse cultural, ethnic and religious communities.

Vijećnica

The Vijećnica is the largest and most representative building of the Austro-Hungarian period in Sarajevo, and was purpose-built as the city hall. It was handed over to the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1949. During the Siege of Sarajevo in 1992, the building was hit by heavy artillery and incendiary bombs, burned out and largely destroyed, causing incalculable damage to the physical structure of the building and to the library holdings. It is currenty being repaired.

Mrkva

My friend Toni went to Bosnia and Herzegovina for a photography course during a week in the summer of 2009 and as usual, he only told me about this trip afterwards by postcard. These two amazing views of pre-war Bosnia came to my letterbox as a very pleasant surprise. On both cards, this pretty stamp from the 2006 series "Vegetables": 1.00 convertible mark featuring a watercolour of carrots.

This week's theme is food and drink.

Left: Queen Elizabeth II in Coronation Robes © V&A Images / Right: © Getty Images

The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II is a multinational celebration throughout 2012 marking the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the thrones of seven countries upon the death of her father, King George VI, on 6 February 1952. She is today queen regnant of 16 sovereign states, 12 of which were British colonies or Dominions at the start of her reign.

Garter Ceremony 1997

Every June, a procession and service take place at Windsor Castle for the Order of the Garter. Founded by Edward III in 1348, the Order is the senior, and the oldest, British Order of Chivalry. In the service The Queen formally invests new Companions of the Order of the Garter in the Throne Room of Windsor Castle.

***

Featuring images taken from Britain’s stamps, banknotes and coins, the Miniature Sheet takes us from Dorothy Wilding’s lovely 1952 portrait, to a special Diamond Jubilee Machin printed with iridescent ink. All six stamps have been issued at First Class inland letter rate.

Her Majesty's Definitive stamps

Queen Victoria is the only other monarch in the histories of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and a few other Commonwealth realms to have celebrated a Diamond Jubilee, which she did in in 1897.

I have only been once to Navarre -- a mountainous region in the North of Spain -- and forgot to buy some postcards for my collection. Thankfully, there is people willing to send me some cards who help me correct my past oversight.

The Way of St. James is a pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, in Northwestern Spain. Pilgrims on the Way of St. James walk for weeks or months and they follow many routes (any path to Santiago is a pilgrim's path). However, we Spaniards consider the Pyrenees our starting point. Although there are more roads crossing the French border, the two most important starting points are Roncesvalles (French Way) or Jaca (Aragonese Way), which are joined into one path in Puente la Reina.

On the flip side of the card you can see the route in Spanish territory with the most remarkable towns. The small village where I spent those holidays, Sansol, isn't on the map. It has a population of only 100!☺

The Route of Santiago de Compostela was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.

Postcard from: Pamplona, Navarre, Spain.

Received: June 2012.

Language: Spanish.

Envelope: yes.

Stamps: one 0.36€ from the Todos con Lorca series, Palacio de Guevara (Guevara's Palace).

This fabulous flower shaped card came from a small town in the Andalusian mountain range. Thanks to its four petals divided by half, it contains the eight provinces of the region. On them, you can see their most notable features. From top, clock-wise:

♪ Córdoba: Cathedral and former Great Mosque, UNESCO World Heritage Site.

♪ Granada: Court of the Lions in the Alhambra, UNESCO World Heritage Site.

♪ Cádiz: beach.

♪ Jaén: Cathedral, UNESCO World Heritage Site aspirant.

♪ Huelva: Castle of Cortegana, National Monument.

♪ Sevilla: Cathedral & Giralda, UNESCO World Heritage Site.

♪ Málaga: aerial view of the city.

♪ Almería: beach.

On the centre, a scene of bullfighting and the name of the region. Many topics related to Spain (like flamenco & bullfighting) are actually from Andalusian origin and not common in other areas of the country.

Isn't it simply gorgeous?! ♥

The Church of Saints Simon & Helen in Minsk, also known as the "Red Church" (Чырвоны касцёл) for its red bricks, was designed in neo-Gothic style by polish architects Tomasz Pajzderski and Władysław Marconi, and built during 1905-1910 as a result of a petition of the Catholic community from Minsk. Rebuilt into a cinema during the Soviet years, it was returned to the Catholic Church in 1990.

The stamps are part of the 14th definitive issue "Architectural Monuments" in 2012:

♪ Left: Church of Epiphany (Bogoyavlensky) in Polatsk, 1761-1777. 500 BYR.

♪ Right: Kosava Palace, 19th century. Class A stamp.

Stamps: one 500 BYR Church of Epiphany in Polatsk and two Kosava Palace stamps from 2012 "Architectural Monuments".

First card from Canada! Yay! Now the USA and Mexico are no longer alone in the tab. ♪

The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were held in Munich, (then) West Germany, from August 26 to September 5 in 1972. Sadly these games were largely overshadowed by what later has been called the Munich massacre: eleven Israeli athletes and coaches, a West German police officer and five terrorists were killed. This is the official poster for the event and was designed by Otl Aicher as long other sports posters and pictograms. Such a nice and cool work of graphic design! He used a technique called "posterization", separating the tonal qualities from the images and using the official munich colours for these games. This had to be produced manually as photoshop did not exist at that time!

This is another travelling card: originally from Germany but sent from Canada. The sender is currently the 1st on most postcards sent from Canada on Postcrossing. He likes watching the Olympic games as I do although he missed this one because he was a little child at that time -- I wasn't even born!

The stamp, unlike last time, has a Canada theme too: one of the baby wildlife series stamp from 2012 where a couple of moose affectionately nuzzle each other. Lovely. Needless to say, we don't have moose in Spain. I like getting this kind of pictures of flora & fauna from all over the world.

Being a woman who loves to read I wonder why this is the only reading woman card I have. Probably because I have never seen any before meeting Danielle.  All the postcards I knew were the childish birthday ones (which I dislike), the Christmas ones (which I have stopped receiving because nobody sends old fashioned postcards anymore) and the touristic ones (which I love to buy when I am visiting any place). Luckily for me, she was willing to share one from her collection and recently I got a neat scan of the card to share. Some scratches from its trip across the ocean can be seen but doesn't it make it more lovable? If only I could spend my days calmly reading by the window!

Leisure

William Worcester Churchill, 1910.

Oil on canvas, 75.9 x 63.8 cm.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

She never disappoints me with her choice of stamps. Lucky girl! Along with my beloved coffeepot from America Toleware and banjo clock from American Clock series, two forever stamps: Cars from 2011 series of Disney-Pixar characters and Lunar New Year of the Dragon from 2012. Love them all! ♥

I received another travelling card. Lately it seems my cards like to take a good tour around Europe before arriving in Spain. Jiri bought this one when he was living in London and, reading that I like nightviews, kindly sent it to me from his home in the Czech Republic. It was his last English card and he tells me he bought it because he never had the chance to see the bridge up like this. Isn't it a great view of the London Tower Bridge? I love it! ♥

Impressed? Ha! Then look at the stamp on the flip side. An amazing illustration by Marina Richterová of an expressively conducting Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an original copy of the Don Giovanni score and the Prague's Estates Theatre in the background. It is 5.5 x 3.5 cm.

♪ England + Austria + Czech Republic ♪