France

March 31, 2014


Ulla from France sent this card with a nice message.  She writes
"Bonjour Helen, Greetings from Ulla from France.  Have you seen this movie of Charlie Chaplin?  I'm a Japan fan.  I was for the 4th time in Japan in October 2013.  I visited Shikoku Island and Hiroshima.  Take care!  Best Wishes, Ulla"

The Circus - 1931
Charlie Chaplin

I haven't seen this particular Charlie Chaplin film to my knowledge.  I like Chaplin, but have really only seen a few of his films.  Maybe I'll catch it some day!

Thanks Ulla!

Russia

March 31, 2014

Eta sent me this fabulous card from Russia.  She wrote a wonderful message on the back of the card.  I'll share a little bit of it, but some of it I plan to keep to myself and hug it close!

She starts with an apology. "Hi!  I'm sorry this is not quite what you requested, but this is not any old b/w either.  This is an image by my absolutely favourite ever photographer.  It's his first wife Bibi, she's on many other pictures as well.  To me, Lartigue's best images are quintessential joie de vivre, something I strive for myself and always look for in others."

She goes on to write about her favourite films and names one that I loved too, The English Patient. She says in recent years there has been the LOTR trilogy which she enjoyed immensely and Ralph Fiennes' Coriolanus which she says is "simply stunning."

I am always happy when the backs of cards excite me and I get a sense of the person sending it.  It is so great to receive a card that didn't have just a simple "Happy Postcrossing" with no personal input.  This was, for me, a very happy postcrossing!  That the card was a beautiful black and white piece of art only added to my enjoyment.

1927.  August, Hendaye
Bibi
Photographed by Jacques-Henri Lartigue

Thank you so much for a wonderful postcrossing Eta!

Belarus

March 31, 2014

Anna sent this card to me from Belarus. She wrote, "Hope you'll like this sunny summer card.  I bought it in Greece last summer during vacation.  I miss sun, we haven't enough [of] it here in Belarus.  My name is Anna, I'm 33, live in Minsk with my husband and daughter.  I work as a technical writer in [an] IT company.  In my free time I like reading fantasy and cycling.  All the best!
At the bottom of the card she wrote these notes;  March 18, 2014, -2°C, cloudy, 8:37am.

Santorini, Greece

I was glad that Anna explained where she got the card.  I would love to go to Santorini and soak in the warmth and sun...but only for a day or two.  

How about this stamp?  It's an Ice Hockey World Championship stamp...Kind of cute to send it to a Canadian!   It's big and colourful and cool.  I love it!

Thanks Anna!

Taiwan

March 29, 2014

Eunice writes a quick message from Taiwan.  She says, " Hello.  Now is 12°C outside, I'm watching my friend practicing drum.  It's so cool.  We both like music, next month our wind band is going to have a performance.  Hope everything will be fine.  Have a nice day!  ☺  By Eunice

I don't know about the card at all.  Unfortunately for me, the information is all in Chinese.  

The stamps are interesting, but I don't know anything about them. Readers?

Singapore

March 29, 2014

Micci sent this card from Singapore with a short message, but one which I appreciate.

She wrote, " Greetings from Singapore!  Hope all is well with you today.
This is a postcard of one of the famous theatres in the country.  The Esplanade has a great architectural design."

The blurb on the back of the card says "A world-class performance centre and arts hub in Singapore.  Its two eye-popping dome-shaped structures is an architectural marvel built on reclaimed land at cost of S$600 million."

Esplanade - Theatres On The Bay

I also really like these stamps.  They show Vanishing Trades, and feature two traditional jobs in Singapore, lantern maker and beaded slipper maker.

China

March 28, 2014

Zhou sent this card to me with a very short message.  "Hi.  Greetings from China!  I hope you like this postcard! Happy Postcrossing!"

The Cullens-Twilight

My niece was very into Twilight, I am not.  However, I did read all of the books.  It is a movie card, so for that I appreciate it!

I think the placement of the stamps on the card is very unusual. I think it is interesting that they are on both ends of the card, rather than all on one side! Also, the stamp on the right is upside down!

Poland

March 28, 2014

Karolina sent this pretty card from Poland.  She writes that she comes from the capital, but now lives in a village near the city. She says that in this postcard we can see a part of a beautiful, small town in Southern Poland.

She doesn't have any favourite movies but she does have some favourite books, for example "Vanity Fair"(She really hates the movie with R. Witherspoon!) or "Wuthering Heights". She sends her best wishes!

The Peace Park, the statue of L.J. Szersnik

I like the stamps, but know nothing about them!

Finland

March 28, 2014

Numa sent this card to me from Finland.  She sends warm greetings from Sunny Finland.  She wishes me Happy Postcrossing & Easter.

Painted by Olavi Vikainen

The artist seems to be quite famous in Finland, although I don't know much about him.

Romania

March 28, 2014

This interesting looking card arrived from Romania.  It only has a short message from the sender.  "Greetings from Romania!"

Essences & flavours of Romania

Draga Olteanu Matei is a well-known Romanian actress.  I hadn't heard of her before this stamp, but I'm always glad to find out about actors from other countries.

Ukraine

March 28, 2014

Tanya sent this great card from the Ukraine.  She writes, "Hello from Eastern Europe, the city of [redacted], Ukraine.  I send you a postcard, a picture of Marilyn Monroe.  I hope she will join your collection.  Happy Postcrossing!"

Marilyn Monroe - American actress, singer and sex symbol

She will join my collection. I don't have this one yet.

An interesting grouping of stamps.  I have received most of them before, but I think the one that looks like a tapestry in the middle is very interesting.

Thanks Tanya!

France

March 26, 2014



Although the picture on the front of this card says Sweden, it is actually sent from France.  I'm a tad disappointed, but I don't have a lot of Swedish cards anyway, so I still like it!

Didier writes a short and simple message, "Happy Postcrossing, Hope you like this postcard."

I like the "real" stamp on here, the cow!  It is a Ferrandaise Cow, which was actually endangered at one time.  Now with careful breeding, numbers have grown, but there still aren't a lot of them.

Thanks Didier!

Germany Cards...nothing in common!

March 26, 2014

Two cards for you today.  They arrived on the same day, from the same country, but very different pictures.  I like them both, how about you?

The first one comes from Nuremberg.  Zara, the sender, wrote her favourite quote, "To make a nasty face, you have to strain 65 muscles, to smile you only need ten. Do not overstrain yourself!"  She names Cyril N. Parkinson as the originator of the quote.

Zara names The Darjeeling Limited by Wes Anderson as her favourite movie.  I haven't seen it, but have wanted to for a while.  She sends her best wishes.

Marie-Adelaide de France in Turkish Costume

I haven't seen this big stamp before I think and I rather like it.

******

Julia sent this card from Berlin with her greetings.  She says that this card shows the most famous local food from her hometown, currywurst and French fries with ketchup and mayonnaise. She isn't a big fan of it, but she thinks if she was a tourist she would probably eat it just to have tried the local specialty. :-)

She goes on to say that German food may not be the greatest, but she really enjoys life here, especially since she lived in a foreign country for 13 years too.  She says that even though Hawaii may be less "exotic" than Japan [not really in my opinion!], it was still very different and often difficult for her.  The things we do for love!  Her husband is half-Japanese too, but was born and raised in Hawaii.  

She sends her best wishes and wishes me a happy postcrossing.

The stamps are also great here.  Those are baby foxes on the bottom and are quite cute!

The back of the card has a few stickers and rubber stamps on it, including one in Japanese.  It was a lovely card to receive because of the care she took with it.

Thanks so much Julia!

Norway

March 26, 2014

My last card was La Scala, the Italian opera house, but this one is Norway's new opera house.  Isn't that cool?

Linda writes that she is sending me this card because she loves Oslo's new opera house - a beautiful building -and she attends performances there as often as she can.  She lives slightly north of Oslo and it is an easy trip for her into the city.  She notes that she hasn't been able to find postcards about books or films yet, but she keeps looking for them.

When talking about movies, her favourites are the classic musicals from the 1950's and 1960's -- Carousel, Oklahoma, West Side Story, Showboat, etc., etc.  She also loves Casablanca and watches it on DVD occasionally.

She sends her best regards from Norway.

Norwegian Opera & Ballet House, Oslo

A very interesting stamp too.  It looks like hikers, but I'm not sure if there is another significance.  In looking at the card there is a holographic image of a hiker underneath the capital A on the card.  Unfortunately, it doesn't show on the scan.  

Thanks Linda!

Italy

March 25, 2014

Alena from Italy sent this card to me.  She wrote about the building on the card, a building that is very famous, but one that I have never seen in person.

She writes," I like the opera and La Scala theater is one of the most famous opera houses. From [the] outside it is much smaller [than] you'd expect, but the auditorium is huge (2800 seats) and the stage is one of the largest in Italy.  It was built in 1778 and soon became the center of the city's social life.  It even had a casino inside. The theater Chorus and Ballet groups are famous."

The poor card got rather eaten up somewhere along the way.  You can just see a bit of it on the picture of the card.

The stamp is quite unusual. It looks very official, rather than decorative.

Thanks for a great card Alena!

Finland

March 24, 2014

This interesting and funny card came from Finland.  I rather like the slogan on it!

Marja sends greetings from South West Finland where she lives with her husband.  She wishes me all good to my life and sends her best wishes too.

I do not need a dictionary-my husband knows everything.

The stamp looks a little Christmassy, but rather nice.

Germany - Movie

March 24, 2014

I love getting movie cards, especially when it is for a movie that I love.

Ulrike sent this card from Germany.  She writes that it is nice to meet me at Postcrossing.  She read that I like Casablanca very much and she hopes that I don't have this card in my collection already.  (I don't.) She sends many greetings and wishes me a happy Postcrossing.

Casablanca

Thanks for a great card Ulrike!  I really like it.

Ukraine

March 24, 2014

Julia sent me this oversized card in an envelope from Kyiv. I couldn't figure out how to show it in its entirety, so please use your imagination to combine the two pictures.  The middle panel is pictured twice.

Julia writes that she loves Asia, especially Thailand and Japan.  She likes anime and dramas, especially the anime of Studio Ghibli. Her favourite animated movie is My Neighbour Totoro:-) She likes to travel and enjoys going on photo shoots.  With her husband, she has been to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan in 2013.  Unfortunately, she was only in Japan for two weeks.  She didn't have time to visit many interesting places the last time she was here.  She hopes that she can soon visit Japan again and stay much longer.

Her and her husband like to travel in the Ukraine as well.  She says there is great, incredible, and unforgettable nature in the Ukraine. There are high mountains on the West, a wide plain on the East, a big [something I couldn't read] on the South, and a impassable green forest in the North. Kyiv is a big and beautiful city with many green parks and historical sights.  It is fine to meet friends under the cherry blossoms.  With love from the Ukraine, she sends her best regards.

Kyiv. View of the Dnieper, Paton bridge and skyscrapers of the left riverside

A mysterious but beautiful stamp that was inside the envelope.  This is quite big.

Thanks Julia for a lovely postcard and stamp!

Italy

March 24, 2014

This interesting card comes all the way from Italy. It features two gorgeous and huge stamps on the back, which you can see below.

Sergio says hello from Trieste, a nice town on the top of the Adriatic Sea (northeast Italy).  Trieste was one of the oldest parts of the Habsburg Monarchy from 1382 until 1918. He signs off by saying,"Ciao."

Duino Castle

Look at these gorgeous stamps!  They  take up about a quarter of the card. I especially love the one with the jewelry!

Germany Times Two

March 24, 2014

I have two cards from Germany today to show you.

The first was written completely in German, so I had to use the Google translator to read it!  It says, "Greetings from the beautiful Harz! Quedlinburg is a very old city, which is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.  Swap?"  I'm guessing that he wants to swap cards with me?   I rarely do that!

Kama Sushi - Eat Love Enjoy

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The second card comes from Christiana.  I really like this design.  It has grown on me since I received it.

She writes," My name is Christiana and I live here with my family and 2 very lovely dwarf hamsters.  I love music.  My favourite band at the moment is 'Imagine Dragons'.  A really great band.  Maybe you know her.  All the best for you!

Thanks Christiana.  Unfortunately, I don't know the band. I don't hear a lot of great music where I live.  

Two very cool cards!

Hong Kong

March 24, 2014

I love getting postcards from places that I have been!  In fact, I may have even sent this particular card to a friend myself.

Cathy from Hong Kong writes that this postcard shows the tallest building (on the left) and the second tallest (on the right) buildings in Hong Kong. However, she lives in a rural area with no towering buildings, but many trees and much greenery.

She notes that she loves taking the ferry across Victoria Harbour.  She says it is very cozy and she can enjoy the views of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.

Victoria Harbour at sunset

I like this stamp.  It looks like it would be a perfect stamp for Valentine's Day, but it says that it is Air Mail Postage.

Thanks Cathy!