Czech Republic & Netherlands

March 30, 2015

I'm giving you a two for one today!  They are from different countries, but are both interesting.

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Dana wrote a short but nice message on the back of her card.  "Best wishes from Czech Republic!  On this card you can see part of the National Park Sumava - my favourite place.  Have a nice time."

Sumava - Bohemian Forest

 The stamps on the back are amazing.  I have the feeling that the two on the right are fairy tale related, but I don't have proof.  The round one is also quite interesting.

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Martin sent this great card from the Netherlands.  I love this card!

He writes,"I am Martin, 68 years old.  We have been married 49 years.  In the past I worked in a psychiatric hospital.  Together with patients we made prints and restored ancient biblical and bind magazines.  So I love books.  Greeting, Martin"

Woman Reading/In the Land of Books - Quint Buchholz

The stamps are also interesting!  I like the small house one, the other looks like van Gogh, but I can't swear to it.  

China

March 30, 2015

I received this card from China recently.  Ye wrote, "you can call me ye.  I live in China.  I hope you like this card.

I may have had the pitcher stamp before, but it's quite nice.

Germany - Crafts

March 28, 2015

I received this lovely crafty greeting card from Pia in Germany. She wrote on the inside, "I hope you like this card.  I also love hand-work with wool usually... I love postcrossing then I collect stamps round the world." She signed it with her address.

Anonymous*Pakistan* Textile (Detail)*

There was one more sentence in her card, "Do you like my present?"  Pia had included a beautiful handkerchief that I believe she embellished herself.  I scanned it, so please forgive the not perfect look at it...my fault, not hers. 

This is really beautiful crochet work. It is so fine and looks perfect too.

Thanks Pia!

Finland - Food

March 28, 2015

Eero sent this card from Finland to me.  He writes on his profile that he only knows "Dictionary English" which helps to explain what he wrote on the back of his card!

He wrote "Hello" , and the name of this recipe with Google Translate underneath it and an arrow pointing to it.    Then, there was "Greetings from Finland - Eero" at the end.

Apple Pie recipe

An unusual stamp.  I think there must be some kind of story behind it, but I have no idea what it is!

Russian Trio

March 28, 2015

 I received 3 postcards from Russia on the same day!  It's a little unusual, but recently I have received quite a few cards from Russia. I thought I'd show them off in one entry, I hope you enjoy this trio as much as I did.

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The first card comes from Nikita and her brother Ivan.  She writes that they are from Koroliov, Russia.  She does Tae Kwon Do and her brother practices figure skating.  They have started studying English.   She  has read my profile and hopes I like her message.  She wishes me good luck and signs the bottom of the card with a little logo.  She wrote" Happyness is not far away."

Unfortunately, the card information is only in Russian.  I don't know what this picture shows.

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Victoriya sent this card to me and said that she lives in a city called Belgorod.  Her hobby is reading.  She likes movies too, esp. Bollywood & Hollywood.  Her favourite actors are Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks (Terminal, Cast Away, Inception, The Great Gatsby, The Green Mile). She bades me to have a good day. 

Audrey Hepburn

Lovely picture of Audrey!

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Alina sends her greetings to me from Moscow.  She hopes that I'll like this card, even if there is a cat on it! She found this card in a Sunday Market in Lvov.  She says that it is a cozy city on the west of Ukraine.  She likes Lvov very much.  It has Austrian architecture and narrow streets.  Her friend celebrated her marriage there.  She wishes me a nice day.

Antiquary Book Market in the Pidval'na Str.

Three very varied cards, but interesting nonetheless!  I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did.

Poland

March 26, 2015

Barbara sent this colourful card to me from Poland.  She wrote,"Hello!  In my country for a few weeks is Easter as a Polish custom.  I wish you a lot of joy.  Regards, Barbara"

China

March 24, 2015


Mandy sent this card to me in a big envelope.  She put a few stickers on the back of the card and wrote a religious type message to me.  She wished me Happy Postcrossing too.

I have no idea what the card shows.  Any explanation on the back of the card is in Chinese.

It's an intriguing card.

Latvia

March 24, 2015

Mara wrote an explanation of Latvian customs for Easter on the back of her card.  It was interesting, except it sounds a bit like it was copied from Wikipedia. I couldn't find it when I searched for it, so perhaps she did write it.  I'll put a bit of what she wrote down.

"Traditional Easter activities include painting eggs with natural colors, egg rolling and egg battles, swinging in the highest place, predicting the weather and performing traditional ceremonies for promoting fertility and strengthening health.  Best wishes, Mara"

It's very informative.

Riga - The Livs Square

These are interesting stamps.  The one with the trees is a little scary!

 

Two from Belgium

March 24, 2015

Belgium is a fairly rare country.  In almost 4 years, I've only received 7 cards from that country.  On March 24th, I received two! Quite an odd occurrence.

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The first card comes from Turkey, but the sender sent it from Belgium.  Inge writes," Hello!  I send you this very (1976) old card from Antwerp, Belgium.  I like it because we made a very nice trip to Istanbul and we were deeply impressed by this mosque.  I hope you like it.  Best Wishes, Inge"

I do appreciate  Inge explaining why she sent it to me.  It is a beautiful picture and the fact that she kept it for a long time makes it quite special.  

Istanbul
The Mosque of Soliman the Magnificent and the Golden Horn

Inge decorated the back of the card and also put this interesting stamp on it.  I haven't seen this one before.

Thanks Inge!

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Petra wrote a quick note on her card, " Hi there, Will go out for lunch later today and then go geocaching, treasure hunt by GPS.  Hope it will stay dry!  Petra

It is interesting to hear about someone's plans for the day, but there was no explanation about the card or why she chose it for me.  

Alfred Hitchcock

 This is a beautiful stamp.  I like to see other countries' Air Mail stickers too.

Czech Republic

March 24, 2015

Dagmar wrote on her card, "Hello, Greetings from Czech Republic.  My name is Dagmar.  I live in historic town Kromeriz -> UNESCO.  My hobbies are garden, reading books and earning for my family.  I have 9 children.  Happy Postcrossing.  D"

She notes the weather is 8℃--21℃

I've had this stamp before I think, but it is a truly beautiful one.  

Netherlands - Food

March 24, 2015

Anton wrote a little note to me and said, "On the post card you see a apple pie.  Sometimes I bake one of my own apples.  Happy Postcrossing.  Kind regards, Anton"

The message on the front says, "The best Apple Pie: Anton"

The caption on the back translates to:
You're the icing on my cake. Will you come along for a nice piece?

It looks delicious, doesn't it? Thanks Anton

Hong Kong

March 20, 2015

"Hallo! Greeting from Hong Kong.  My name is "Fung Ki". I like music and travelling.  My dream is be a backpacker and traveling whole world.  What is your dream? Would you share with me, please?"

On the back of the card is a cute drawing of a Fung Ki and it says, " I'm backpacker."  He has also written, "Happy Postcrossing!" & "12℃" and the message, "Wish you everything is fine in your life."

Thanks for the nice thoughts Fung Ki!

Night view from KLN

A tiny but beautiful stamp!

India - Black & White

March 19, 2015

Sayan sent this card to me from India.  He wrote," Hello.  Since you're fond of B/W cards of celebrities,   here is one.  The people were the first to set foot on the top of Mt. Everest (in Nepal).  I am a huge proponent of mountaineering myself.  I hope you like this post-card. It's very chilly here in Darjeeling today.

Best wishes, Sayan"

Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay - May 29th - 1953's

 The stamp is of J. R. D. Tata.  There's a Wikipedia entry for him here.

J.R.D.  Tata

Russia

March 19, 2015

Anna writes, "Hello! from cold & snow Siberia! :)" She writes that she's a student at the Siberian Federal University.  She loves badminton, travel, cooking, photo & her fujifilm instax mini u.  Her favourite dish is - Draniki . It's a potato pancakes from Russia & Belarus!

Nice to meet you & Happy Postcrossing!  10 March 2015 -1℃

Theatre Square

Germany

March 19, 2015


Christina sent this lovely card of a thatched cottage from Germany.  She writes, " Best greetings from North Germany with a card of the Island "Föhr".  I live close to Germany's most northern city Flensburg and work in Denmark as a teacher.  I have both visited Japan and Canada. Best Wishes Christina"

Oldsum is a small town with many thatched cottages.  For more information please check out the Wikipedia link I posted.

Oldsum auf Föhr

The card became a little injured on the journey, but made it here nonetheless! Hurray!

Germany

March 19, 2015

The Village Kids sent me this card from Germany.  It's quite beautiful.  I've bought a few of these fairy cards for myself to send, but I think this is the first I have received.

They wrote, "Hello to Japan.  We are a family from lower Saxony in Germany.  We live in a very small village with a lot of animals.  Dogs, Cats, Goose, Chicken and Pigeons are living in the garden/in the house.  We are waiting for the Spring.  Hope the flowers will grow soon.  We love colorful flowers.  Best wishes to you from the Village Kids.

The Chicory Fairy
From Flower Fairies of the Wayside by Cicely Mary Barker

Quite interesting stamps.  The one on the right looks like it is an underwater diorama!

Belarus - Black and White Actress

March 18, 2015

"Greetings from Brest, Belarus,"  Marina wrote," I work as a teacher.  I like watching movies a lot.  My favourite actress is Audrey Hepburn.  I have seen her movies several times and I can't stop enjoying them.  Yesterday I saw "Whiplash" It's modern.  A great one! Watch it if you haven't done it already! Best wishes, Marina"

I haven't seen the film as it hasn't played here yet.

Audrey Hepburn

A very cool fungus stamp!

Bangladesh

March 18, 2015

I received this card recently.  It was rather unusual.  I had to sign for the card and it was wrapped in plastic!  That doesn't usually happen.

There are stamps on the back that cover most of the card.  Unfortunately, they also cover everything that the sender wrote, so I have no idea what he wanted to say.

The sender put his home address on the card.  His address is in another country.  The card shows a pair of hand-knitted stockings from Estonia.

Stockings

Beautiful stamps, but so big!

Netherlands - Books

March 17, 2015

Ireen sent this card to me from the Netherlands. She writes, "Must be a kind of a new life that you made when you started to live in Japan.

I saw Mr. Turner a month ago and I find it a very good film.

Best wishes,

Ireen"

1 Day Books

A lovely windmill stamp!  Gorgeous isn't it?

Thank you, Ireen

Australia - Movie Related

March 17, 2015

Kay is the sender of this great movie related card.  She wrote me a lovely note on the back of her card.

She said," Hullo, I don't normally send these type of cards but I notice that you are a movie fan so I thought you might like it.  Cards other than of Aussie animals and scenes of Sydney very hard to find for sale in Australia.

I am Kay, recently retired from the work force.  Time now for my hobbies & more travel - have been to 100 countries & large islands so far.  3 times to Japan and 3 times to Canada.  I went on a Greyhound bus from Toronto to Vancouver - a long but interesting journey.  Enjoy living in Japan, lucky you!   From Kay"

Step inside the famous wizard's magical world
Advertising card for a museum show in Sydney

This stamp is of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  I have driven over, walked and boated underneath this bridge a few times, so it is lovely to see it on this stamp!

Thanks Kay!