Alhana's Postcards

Strawberry jam recipe

Janet sent me this funny recipe of strawberry jam written in Mandarin. Fortunately, I can just follow the pictures to understand what is needed, because I can't understand the characters! Love that look on the left strawberry, poor thing is scared.

St. Valentine's 2012

This stamp is more beautiful that it seems at first glance. It is nicely carved and comes with this couple of hearts for celebrating 2012 St Valentine's. ♪

Postcard from: Changzi, Taiwan.
Received: May 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one St. Valentine's carved rose from 2012.

Thank you, Janet!
{TW-558271}

I came back home from my holidays to find these wonderful postcards in my letter-box:

Eestimaa

1. Angla windmills.
2. Taevaskoja and Ahja Primeval Valley.
3. Kingfisher.

Elena, who lives in St-Petersburg, went to Tallinn for holidays and sent me this. Elena was once my swap partner on Postcrossing and we have been swapping cards regularly since then.

Nissi by Mari Kaarma

Postcard from: Tallinn, Estonia.
Received: August 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one 1€ stamp from 2012 featuring a woman of Nissi parish in late 19th century dress.

***

Police of Poland promotional card for Euro2012

Ania worked as a volunteer during the last Eurocup which was hosted by Poland and Ukraine. She gathered a few promotional postcards from the event and offered to send them to her readers. Of course, being a footie fan I requested one! Now I have a souvenir from the championship my country won.

Gniezno (left) & Sieradz (right) churches

Postcard from: Otwock, Poland.
Received: August 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one 2zl Gniezno's church and two 20gr Sieradz's church.

***

Die Mosel von Koblenz bis Trier

Leonie, on the other hand, went to a short holiday trip to Trier and sent me this wonderful map card of the Moselle river from Koblenz to Trier with pictures of all the worth visiting buildings (castles!) along the river banks. What a wonderful place Germany is!

Pfälzer Hütte

Postcard from: Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Received: August 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.

Stamps: one 0.75€ stamp from 2012 featuring the Pfälzer Hütte, an Alpine refuge located in Liechtestein.

***

Thank you very much, ladies! I really liked your postcards and reading about your travels. ♥

Finnish sauna by the lake

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!

Aurora borealis

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.

Postcard from: Turku, Finland.
Received: May 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one 1st class Aurora Borealis from 2009.

Thank you, Tanja!
{FI-1411892}

Andalucía

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?! ♥

Postcard from: Valdepeñas de Jaén, Jaén, Spain.
Received: June 2012.
Language: Spanish.
Envelope: no!
Stamps: one 0.36€ from the "Todos con Lorca" series, Ayuntamiento (Town Hall).

¡Muchas gracias, Juan!

Złota Polska Jesień

There is no need for words. Simply GORGEOUS! ♥

Postcard from: Bytom, Silesia, Poland.
Received: April 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one 3 ZL Dwor w Janowcu k.Pulaw.

Thank you very much, Zuzanna!
{PL-421699}

Mănăstire Pologravi

The Polovragi Monastery is located in the Gorj county in Romania. Founded before 1505 as stated in some inscriptions, nowadays it shelters an outstanding museum collection of icons and books of national patrimony. It is also home for a community of orthodox nuns.

Startflower (left) & peach blossom (right)

Thanks to a Romanian friend, I already have a few of these and I must say I love the Romanian series of flowers and animals Flora of Romania. On the left, there is the startflower stamp, whose scientific name is borago officinalis (hence its other English name, borage) which in Romanian is called limba mielului. We call this edible plant borraja in Spanish. This flower comes with a little lamb, I guess she likes eating it. ♪

Edited: In Germany, it is called Boretsch. Thank you Leonie!

On the right, a beautiful watercolour of the peach (prunus persica) blossom. So delicate!

Postcard from: Bucharest, Romania.
Received: April 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one 1.60 L borage & lamb stamp and one 50 bani peach blossom stamp.

Multumesc, Dorin!
{RO-41769}

Cherry Blossom Viewing (detail)

This is a detail from a Japanese six-panel screen from the Edo period, circa 1700-1800, called Cherry Blossom Viewing. Ink, colours and gold on paper. The original piece is exhibited at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum / Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture, in California (USA). Danielle was kind enough to send me this postcard at the beginning of the spring. She bought this one so it would match the stamps!

Cherry Blossom Centennial (top), American Toleware (bottom left) & Clock (right)

About the Cherry Blossom Centennial stamps:

In 1912 Japan gave 3,000 cherry trees to the United States, which were planted round the Tidal Basin in the nation’s capital. In artist Paul Rogers’s design for the se-tenent stamps, blossoming trees arch over a family on a stroll with two girls dressed in bright kimonos, the Washington Monument in the background. In the stamp on the right, the Jefferson Memorial is the backdrop for sightseers under a canopy of pink blooms.

I am glad she didn't have to split the stamps up! They look very beautiful together. Where I live we have almond trees. They blossom early, usually around February, and the sight of them is just breath-taking. Those ornamental cherry trees blooming and reflecting on the water must be just an amazing view!

This postcard's theme: Japanese cherry blossoms.

Postcard from: Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
Received: April 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one Cherry Blossom Centennial 'Forever' stamps (both sides), one American Toleware 5c and one American clock 10c.

Kara Dag

A beautiful spring view of the Kara Dag Mountain, part of the Kara Dag Nature Reserve, dropping to the Black Sea in Crimea (Ukraine). Although it is called mountain, Kara Dag is actually an extint volcano that emerged during Jurassic times. "Kara Dag" means "black mountain" in the Crimean Tatar language.

The native flowers in the foreground remind me strongly of our Mediterranean coast. Somehow the light and the feeling is the same, although the climate must be very different.

Left: Happy New Year! & right: Askania Nova

Two beautiful stamps this time. On the left side, the New Year stamp (З Новим роком!) and on the right, the Askania Nova nature reserve (Асканія-Нова) stamp from the Seven Nature Wonders of Ukraine series.

Postcard from: Kiev, Ukraine.
Received: April 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one 1.80 hrívnia New Year stamp and one 2.20 hrívnia Askania Nova stamp, both from 2011.

Thank you, Mierna!
{UA-246608}

West & center part of the state

Nebraska became the 37th state to be admitted to the Union on March 1, 1867. Today, Nebraska is one of the country's leading producers of feed crops and livestock.

Downtown area

This is the downtonwn area of Omaha: business disctrict to the right and commercial shopping district to the left.

The Nebraska state capitol

Lincoln is the capitol city of Nebraska, about 45 min drive from Omaha. It is a small college town -- University of Nebraska. They have the country's only unicameral legislature.

Joslyn Art Museum

The local art museum, Joslyn Art Museum, is located in 2200 Dodge Street. They have a good collection of Western American art and one of the Little Dancer sculptures of Degas. The glass sculpture in the window is done by glass artist Dale Chihuly. Free entrance on Saturday mornings!

Round up time (top) & herds of bufallo (bottom)

Nebraska, where the West begins, has lots of cattle ranches and exports beef. You still can see some buffalos in the countryside -- along with loads of cows!

Go Green (left & centre), Rockefeller Center (top) & American Toleware (bottom)

All five postcards came together in an envelope safe and sound. These stamps made my day and put a big smile on my face. I am a huge fan of everything green, including the colour itself! I try to go green everyday and am glad to say that I follow both advices on the stamps: days are mostly sunny where I live so I can let nature do the work. Also, I just walk or take the bus everyday and share rides when I need to go somewhere farther. ♪

On the top right, a stamp of the Wisdom mural of the Rockefeller Center in New York City with a facial value of $1, and below the gorgeous coffeepot painted by Lou Nolan from the American series (American Toleware).

Postcard from: Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
Received: March 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: yes.
Stamps: four. Two Forever USA Go Green, "share rides" & "let nature do the work"; one $1 Wisdom, Rockefeller Center, New York City and one 5c American Toleware.

Thank you very much for these cards, Danielle! ♥

Violet & green Northern lights

I don't think I can have enough of these! This is the first time I see these colours in the northern lights -- it was also a first for the sender, who had taken this photo herself and got it printed at a print company. The card came with a little scratch on the bottom right corner, which bothered me a little because the image is breathtaking.

How wonderful must it be to live in the Norwegian countryside?

post horn (left) & art by Irma Salo Jaeger (right)

Another post horn! ♥ This one from Norway with green colours reminds me very badly of the label of a beer company. I wonder who got inspired by whom?

On the right side, an art stamp. The stampmotive is a section of Lyset ved pinsetider, 162 x 200cm. Commemorative Issue Norwegian art II issued in 2009. This is the info I found about the artist:

Irma Salo Jæger (b. 1928 in Finland) has been a major figure in Norwegian art since the 1960s. She studied art in Munich, Oslo and Florence after taking a degree in art history in Helsinki. She is regarded as one of the greatest exponents of abstract painting in Norway, and her debut coincided with the breakthrough of this form of expression around 1960. Her paintings are characterised by clearly demarcated areas of intense, bright colour, often blues, reds and oranges. Irma Salo Jaeger held a professorship at Statens Kunstakademi in Oslo from 1986 until 1992. Her work is presented in a book by art historian Erik Daehlin, which was published in 2002.

Postcard from: Rendalen, Østerdalen, Norway.
Received: April 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: a 1 KR of a post horn and a 12 KR of Irma Salo Jæger's work.

Thank you very much, Linn! ♥
{NO-60573}

Łazienki Królewskie

Łazienki Królewskie (Royal Baths) is the largest park in Warsaw (Poland). It was designed in the 17th century, and enlarged and developed in Classical style in the 18th century. What a wonderful place! I can picture the ladies dressed in full gowns and wigs taking walks around the lake...

From left to right, top-down:
♪ Northern façade of the Palace.
♪ Temple of Diana.
♪ The Amphiteatre on the Island.
♪ Statue of King Jan III Sobieski.
♪ The Palace on the Island.
♪ The White House.
♪ Monument to Fryderyk Chopin.
♪ The Myślewicki Palace.
♪ The New Orangery.

Postcard from: Września, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland.
Received: March 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: none. It was paid & directly postmarked at the office.

Thank you, Jędrzej!
{PL-399533}

Ursus arctos arctos, by Arne Ader.

Guess what my favourite animal is? ♥

Hint: is furry and brown. Note: sometimes it can be white or black-patched. Answer: you can see it above.

Bear cubs are really cute! I love bears above all animals, they have appealled to me since I was a little child. My best friend was a (teddy) white bear cub that I still have. In Spain, brown bears are endangered species and nowadays can be only found in National Parks in the Cantabrian Mountains. This little one however lives freely and happily in the Estonian forests.

Oskar Luts (left), postal service (centre) and rode deer (right)

Now the stamps. Plenty of them and variegated!

♪ On the left there is Estonian writer and playwright Oskar Luts (1887-1953), a 0.45€ stamp issued in 2012, Luts' 125th birth anniversary. At just 25 years old Oskar Luts, who had earlier penned only a few lines of poetry, authored Spring, a book that made him famous all over the country overnight.

* More info about this stamp can be found on the Eesti Post website.

♪ The little green one is a silhouette of a post horn, which seems to be the symbol of the postal service worldwide -- I like that!

♪ And last, another fauna beauty: a watercolour of a roe deer (capreolus capreolus).

Postcard from: Tallinn, Estonia.
Received: March 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one 0.45€ stamp of Oskar Luts, one 0.45€ of roe deer watercolour and one 0.10€ post horn.

Thank you very much, Piret!
{EE-128406}

This week theme is poets and poetry.

Back in the old times, before internet, there was snailmail spam too. Chain letters, letters to beg for money, all kind of weird stuff came to my letterbox. Sometimes I could recognize my classmates' writing, sometimes it came from an exotic and very foreign country.

2.00 rs Rose stamps

This one came from India in 2003. It was a missionary asking for a donation. Who knows where did they get my address? However this letter was special. It was the first time I received anything from India so these stamps were totally new for me. And it was also the first time a letter came by Sea Mail! I mean, it has a Sea Mail mark on it! I still think it is awesome and keep the letter carefully folded away from damage. :-)

This week's theme is flowers or spring.

Aurora Borealis

An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic) regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere. They illuminate the northern horizon as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red, as if the sun were rising from an unusual direction. Discrete aurorae often display magnetic field lines or curtain-like structures, and can change within seconds or glow unchanging for hours, most often in fluorescent green.

* source Wikipedia; I am not clever enough to write this.

I asked my penpal if the northern lights can be seen from his home in Nuuk and he sent me this as an answer. I cannot say anything else about this card but that I love it. The image says everything itself. Isn't our world wonderful enough to give us such amazing phenomena?

Postcard from: Nuuk, Greenland.
Received: November 2011.
Language: Latin. ♥
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one 9kr. Martin A. Henson stamp like the one on my blog banner.

Orchid or Pagoda Primrose

Although I am allergic to flowers, I love them. As I cannot get very close to them if I don't want to start sneezing like mad receiving flowers in postcards and stamps is the best way to enjoy them. Especially when they are species we don't have in the Mediterranean climate. I have never seen this Orchid Primrose in our gardens before. Beautiful!

Suomi St. Valentine's 2012

Because it was sent with an economy class stamp, this postcard took longer than usual to arrive. But having such a cute stamp, who cares about shipping time? Päivi Unenge designed this year's Finnish stamp collection for St. Valentine's day. I love it because, once again, the whole card is one-themed -- this time about flora. Let's water our plants with love so they can grow healthy. ♪

Postcard from: Kuopio, Northern Savonia, Finland.
Received: February 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one St. Valentine's 2nd class 2012 designed by Päivi Unenge.

Thank you, Pirjo!
{FI-1332717}

Feldberg im Taunus

Aussichtsturm Großer Feldberg (Taunus), 881 m. Hesse, Germany.

Postcard from: Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Received: February 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: two 0.55€ Post Tower of Bonn machine stamps.

Danke, Marta!
{DE-1229151}

Rhododendron tomentosum

Marsh Labrador tea (Rhododendron tomentosum) is a mildy toxic plant that can be found in the Northen tundra swamps. It blossoms in June-July, when the temperature is higher and the sun is almost 24h up. It is also known as wild rosemary. Very beautiful but not my --herbal-- cup of tea. Let's leave it on the ground just in case. Even the smell of it can make you dizzy! So different from jasmine and at first I thought they look quite similar. I would make an awful botanist, I know.

Priority (left), cross-shaped (centre) and wild strawberries (right)

I am delighted about the stamps I am getting in my letterbox lately. Three stamps, two of them cross-shaped, plus one priority sticker. Why don't we have these stickers in Spain? I wonder. And the drawing of the wild strawberries is very beautiful and detailed. Love it!
One-themed: Finnish flora.

Postcard from: Oulu, Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland.
Received: Feburary 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one 0.65€ wild strawberries stamp and two cross-shaped 0.05€ and 0.10€ to complete postage. Priority sticker.

Thank you very much, Vuokko!
{FI-1325905}

Dog sledge

I have met this special penpal last year. Many people (including my postman) think the special thing about him is that he lives in Greenland. However, he is special to me because he is another Latin speaker and a very skilled one. Thanks to him and his patience I have a bunch of wonderful views of Greenland -- and soon from Denmark I hope. All of them with Latin words on the reverse that no one but he and I understand. Bye bye prying postmen/neighbours. :-)

Martin A. Henson

The theme of this postcard: kalaallit (& friends).

Postcard from: Nuuk, Greenland.

Received: October 2011.

Language: Latin. ♥
Envelope: no.

Stamps: one 9kr. Martin A. Henson stamp.

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