UNESCO - Historic Centre Of Salvador De Bahia, Brazil

Wonderful night views of the Salvador lighthouse and the historic quarter Pelourinho (whs). The full historic name is Cidade de São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos; Salvador is the capital of the Bahia state in NE Brazil, and also carries the title of Brazil's capital of happiness :))). And is the country's third most populous city! (ca 2.7 million)

Its historical centre is renowned for its Portuguese colonial architecture - after all, it was the first colonial capital of Brazil and is one of the oldest cities in the country. All this makes it a very desirable holiday spot doesnt it? :)

Both cards were sent by dear Cristina/Trisk, who always uses awesome stamps and therefore contributes to the beauty of my Brazilian postcard collection. Big thanks, as always! ;)

Krtek And Friends, UK

Thanks to Anu, this adorable Krtek card, thanks! The stamps are great - i know it takes a lot of effort to find special stamps in the UK..!

I did not plan to collect Krtek cards, but I appear to have many of them in my favourites...its just difficult not to click when you see them :D Did you know that this year Krtek is 55 years old? And still such a youthful character heh. I am happy that Czech animated characters get to be so popular on the cards, as i grew up with lots of them ( hint: still waiting for my 1st A Je To! card ;) Oh i only now found out they're called Pat & Mat! )

Views Of Bulgaria

Bulgarian national costumes from Rhodope District,

with Devil's Bridge over the Arda river

Sofia - Vitosha Mountain

Dragalevtsi Monastery

Wonderful layout of the Bulgarian national cuisine. Too many to name, but it sure looks delicious!

All three great Bulgarian postcards come from a private swap with Lilia/Childish - I absolutely love them & the wonderful stamps, thank you!! :))

Reindeer From Lapland

So cute, the young reindeer peeking from behind the bush :)
I cannot be sure (the animal clasifications sometimes downright confuse me :-/) but this could be the Finnish Forest Reindeer, an endangered species. But more likely a mountain reindeer. Any tips welcome..!
Thank you Anu/ichabodhides for the swap, and great stamps! :D

The Sheep Family

This cute sheep family arrived from Germany via private swap - thank you Jana/terra :)

Kaj Stenvall

Ei hyvältä näytä - It Doesn´t Look Good, 2008

 

Unen hiljainen portti - Sleep´s Silent Gate, 2009

 

As i love having all interesting illustration examples, i made a swap for these two Kaj Stenvall cards :)

To me the 1st one is as spooky as its title..! Looks like a tranquil careless scene, until you notice the  large fin underwater, brr. I am one of those people who dont feel too comfortable in the body of water if something is swimming, or indeed even just lying beneath them...

The 2nd one, i've just discovered, is originally much brighter red - which enhances the contrast and consenquently has better effect...

Thank you Rita/jenta for this double swap, am happy to have Stenvall here :)

Maiko Girls In The Garden Of Daigo-ji Temple, Japan

I just adore the series of cards with Maiko Girls in Kyoto by Asahi Card! The autumn colours in this one are amazing - the whole composition is an equivalent of a perfectly played music chord...! Million thanks to DekoPon for the private swap :)))

UNESCO - Kizhi Pogost, Russia

This marvelous site is situated on Kizhi island, on the 2nd largest European lake Onega (Republic of Karelia).  The main building - present on both cards - is The Church Of The Transfiguration, which is 37 meters high and has no less than 22 domes! The second is The Church Of The Intercession, and the third a bell-tower.

According to the Russian carpentry traditions of that time, these structures were built of wood only with no nails. The basic structural unit is a round log of Scots Pine about 30cm in diameter and 3-5 meters long - which made the work quite complex logistically.  Because of its unique beauty and longevity the pogost was included in the whs unesco list in 1990.

I have chosen these cards but it was Natalia/tsaheylu who made them complete with the stamps of the same theme - i was mesmerised upon realising! So thoughtful and kind, I cannot thank enough..! :)))

Maiko Girls - Tea Ceremony

Another one of the gorgeous Maiko cards from Kyoto - this time thanks to Rina/Selah, who asked for a private swap. I wish more people from Japan asked me the same thing! heh. But i cannot complain; am really happy about all the Japanese cards i received lately :)

Portrait Of Dalai Lama

Interesting combination of the themes on postcard and stamps :))

Canyon Weaver, USA

The Native American communities that surround the Grand Canyon

continue to practice the traditions passed on to them from their ancient ancestors.

Represented among these tribes are the Navajo,

Havasupai, Kaibab-Paiute and Hopi.

The handwork of these people reflects their culture,

beliefs and spirituality.

Mimi/Spriggan, thank you so much for this gorgeous card - the colours are amazing..!!

Donkeys From Greece

Greece seems to be an unfailing source of donkey postcards! :))) I am happy to have had a private swap with nikos, for these wonderful new additions to my collection - thank you!!

'The Kid' By Charlie Chaplin, The Netherlands

This is the iconic image of Chaplin's first full-length movie The Kid, filmed in 1921. Jackie Coogan is the name of his child side-kick, who also played Uncle Fester in the 1960's sitcom The Addams Family.

Also a curious fact - Jackie's law suit against his parents' wrongful redistribution of his earnings provoked California to enact the first known legal protection for the earnings of child preformers. which is sadly very much needed nowdays...

A great card, thanks to a private swap with Amanda/bloem82 :)

UNESCO - Rio de Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes Between The Mountain And The Sea, Brazil

The site consists of an exceptional urban setting encompassing the key natural elements that have shaped and inspired the development of the city: from the highest points of the Tijuca National Park’s mountains down to the sea. They also include the Botanical Gardens, established in 1808, Corcovado Mountain with its celebrated statue of Christ, and the hills around Guanabara Bay, including the extensive designed landscapes along Copacabana Bay which have contributed to the outdoor living culture of this spectacular city. Rio de Janeiro is also recognized for the artistic inspiration it has provided to musicians, landscapers and urbanists.

I believe these are my 1st cards of Rio! I was happy to do a swap with Cristina, she has such beautiful postcards :) And the stamps are great too, and the cancellations..!

I love it on the first card how the statue of Cristo Redentor 'embraces' the city. It really looks like he's watching over everything and everyone :) In 2007 it was listed as one of the New Seven  Wonders Of The World - it is the largest Art Deco statue in the world and the world's 5th largest statue of Jesus Christ, with the height of 39.6 meters and the massive weight of 635 tonnes. It is situated on the Corcovado mountain, 700m high.

I hope to see the city and the statue 'live' one day...

as well as ride the only streetcar still active in the city, the beautiful La Vereda.

The Rio neighbourhood Santa Teresa has the only active tram line  in the city, which passes its winding, narrow streets and the colonial aqueduct. Santa Teresa is nowdays considered an artistic hotspot, dotted with many galleries and museums. Sounds like a 'must'!

Nosferatu, Russia

This strange and yet compelling card is of Nosferatu, the cult/classic German movie from the year 1922, directed by F. W. Murnau. The famous character of the Count Orlok/Dracula was played by Max Schreck (what an apt name!) - when you look at his 'normal' portraits you realise just how much he's been into this movie character! Though pretty basic the make-up was quite impressive, I thought. Nosferatu is a synonim for the word 'vampire', believed to originate from Romanian folklore.

This is a card from private swap with Alexey/Alex_aka_JJ, also an avid movie fan!

Thank you, such cards are hard to come by :)

Les Pelerins de les Useres

The Pilgrims of Les Useres ( H.V. Portola, 1983. )

Wow today i really need to put some effort in finding the supporting info for my blog! It didnt help that 'les pelerins' was spelt 'els pelegrins' on the card heh. But eventually i found out more about the interesting ritual on this photo.

In the spanish province of  Castellón (between Barcelona and Valencia) a pilgrimage takes place every year on the last friday of April. The 700 -year-old tradition sees the pilgrims of the village Les Useres setting out on their two-day walk to the sacred mountain of Penyagolosa to pray for rain and forgiveness. There are 13 hand-picked men dressed in special blue robes, accompanied by the village priests, but also the locals who carry supplies for the journey.

Private swap with Masha/forelka - thanks! :)

Sarah Kay

I was asked for a private swap, and chose this Sarah Kay card as i have none yet :) it reminds me of my childhood, more precisely of....is Miss Petticoat by Sarah Kay?! It looks like it may be, but i havent found much information on either...but thru this research i've discovered there are miss petticoat sticker albums for sale online, wow it would be so cool to have one of those as i used to collect the stickers  <3

I love it when something happens which triggers memories of times way passed, esp as i have such a weak memory capacity (my brain is like a piece of swiss cheese, i sometimes say :))  In any case, many Sarah Kay cards are somewhat too cutesy and romantic, but some are worth having!

Thank you Eule for this swap :)

Gromit of 'Wallace&Gromit'

'Sixty seconds to blast-off...' - from 'A Grand Day Out'



Thanks to a private swap with Claire i FINALLY got my very 1st Wallace&Gromit card! I am a huge fan of this duo, esp Gromit as he is just sooooooo cute..! <3

The series contains four animated short films and a feature-length film. I have seen the first three shorties and can highly recommend them (esp if you are into quirky british humour): A Grand Day Out ('89), The Wrong Trousers ('93) & A Close Shave ('95). And of course the movie: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit ('05).

These fellas are made from moulded plasticine modelling clay on metal armatures, and filmed with stop motion clay animation. Their brilliant creator is Nick park of Aardman Animations - a studio based in Bristol (UK) and also responsible for the movies Chicken Run ('00) & Flushed Away ('06).

Recently i've also watched  Morph, which appears to be the first clay character this studio created, back in 1977! we are the same age :)))

Terskey-Alatau Mountain Range, Kyrgyzstan

I was stoked when i received a request for private swap from Kyrgyzstan - it is not that easy to get a card from this enigmatic country! I received this great card showing the panoramic view (Teskey-Alatau) AND the native animal, reed wild cat :)))

Terskey-Alatau (or Teskey Ala-Too) is a mountain range in Tien-Shan, a large mountain system situated in central Asia (also spreading through China, Pakistan, India, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan...wow massive). The length of this range is 354km and the highest peak is staggering 5216m high!

The reed wild cat is actually called the jungle cat. though it inhabits savannas, tropical dry forests and reedbeds. It can be found in the large area from egypt in the west to Indochina in the east. Its quite common in India but on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species elsewhere. The jungle cat is considered to be the largest remaining species of the wild cat genus Felis - ranging from 55 to 94cm in length!

Thank you very much Anna for this swap, and wonderful stamps! One of them is from the sheet of 10, celebrating 2200 years of the Kyrgyz statehood. Sharban Baatyr is an important person in the Kyrgiz history but i cant find any information online! :( The other one shows folk art, beautiful :)

Arad Fort, Bahrain

Another great swap on the official site - written(but not)stamped card from Bahrain, my 1st from there!

The card shows the Arad Fort, built in the 15th century in the typical islamic style of that time. Due to its strategic location overlooking many sea passages of Muhharaq Island it was used as a defensive fortress throughout the centuries. Last time it was restored in the 1980s using traditional materials (coral stone, lime, tree trunks) to keep the authenticity.

Saleh was even so thoughtful to write a few words in Croatian - thank you! :))