Kurenai – Curonian Lagoon - Lithuania

Boats were the most important assets for the Curonian fishermen in their daily life. It was the only means, which connected them to the continent. Besides fishing, Curonians used them for hay and animal transportation from the meadows in the Nemunas delta. Flat-bottomed boats, whose draught and shape were the most suitable according to sailing conditions, prevailed in the lagoon. Curonian fishermen sailed four different kinds of boats: dragnet boat, sailing boat, fish-trap boat, and kurenai (korno valte); they had the name given according to the net they were drawing. Depending on purpose, boats were of different size. For instance, Kurenas was eight to ten meters in length and 3 meters in width. Four or five fishermen could fit in it.
An interesting fact is that fishermen from Juodkrante didn't use bi-masted sailboats for dragnets, sealing-nets or kurenai.

The prerogative of constructing sail boats belonged to masters from Gilija, Labguva and Dreverna. Nobody from the Curonian Spit had such skills. The great boats were constructed on the southwestern side of the lagoon and smaller, fish-trap boats and keelboats came from the northeastern side. Experienced masters were able to build a traditional boat in one month. Such a boat would cost as much as a fisherman's house. The fisherman described the type, shape and size to the constructor, and it was custom built.

The first picture of the flat-bottomed boats was found on the map from the 16th century. Such boats were used until 1956. Now there are only three kurenas and one fish-trap boat which sail the Curonian Lagoon.


This nice black and white picture postcard was sent to me by Kotryna from Lithuania. The picture was taken sometime in the 1940’s of  a fishing fleet of Curonian boats at anchor in the Curonian Lagoon.

Netherlands

A Dutch Coast Guard vessel in action. This nice card was sent to me by Ellen.

Petronas Towers

The Petronas Twin Towers were the tallest buildings in the world until Taipei 101 was completed in 2004, as measured to the top of their structural components (spires, but not antennas). Spires are considered integral parts of the architectural design of buildings, to which changes would substantially change the appearance and design of the building, whereas antennas may be added or removed without such consequences. The Petronas Twin Towers remain the tallest twin buildings in the world.

The floor plan of the Petronas Twin Towers is based on an eight – pointed star that is an important motif of Islamic art design.

Zipping across Kuala Lumpur, KL Monorail offers an elevated view of the city sights, including the twin towers.

The Twin Towers are shown reflected in the waters of Lake Titiwangsa, a magnificent park with lush greenery.
These three cards were sent to me by My dear friend Caroline from Sabah. 

Belarus

The picture is of the City Hall, Architectural monument of XVIII century in the town of Chachersk, Homel Region in Belarus.

Chachersk  is a city in the Homiel Province of Belarus, an administrative center of the Chachersk district. It is located in an area which is highly contaminated due to the fallout of the Chernobyl disaster.

The town was founded in the late 10th century on the Sozh River. It was first mentioned in chronicles in 1159 as the city Radimichi Chichersk. Sometime later a castle was built in the area.

In 1772 it became part of Russia, as the center of the county in the province Rogachev, then borough, and parish center of Rogachev district. In 1774 Catherine II of Russia in collaboration with a local governor helped build the town hall, churches a theater, 2 hospitals, and other notable buildings. Redevelopment of the city took place, with the destruction of the castle and the fortifications, which were mentioned more in the "Census" Chechersk for 1765.

Since 1919, it has been part of Gomel province in the RSFSR. It officially became a town in 1971.

Paulista Avenue , Sao Paulo, Brazil

Paulista Avenue (Avenida Paulista in Portuguese, Paulista being the gentilic for those born in São Paulo state) is one of the most important avenues in São Paulo, Brazil. The 2.8 kilometre thoroughfare is notable for headquartering a large number of financial and cultural institutions. It is also home to an extensive shopping area and to Latin America's most comprehensive fine-art museum, MASP. Since the 1960s, the avenue has been identified as one of the main business centers in the city. Being one of the highest points in São Paulo, it is distinctively clustered with radio and TV stations antennae, such as Gazeta's. The road is served by a subway line, as well as many major bus routes.

The avenue, which was inaugurated in December 1891, is generally regarded as the second most expensive real estate anywhere in Latin America, after Mexico City´s Avenida Presidente Masaryk.

Friesland in The Netherlands

Friesland  is a province in the north of the Netherlands.

Up until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân. Nevertheless "Friesland" is still commonly used by Dutch speaking people, being the Dutch translation of the official name.

Friesland has 643,000 inhabitants (2005) and its capital is Leeuwarden (Ljouwert), with 91,817 inhabitants, in the center of the province.

Friesland distinguishes itself from the other eleven provinces through having its own language, West Frisian, which is also spoken in a minor part of the province of Groningen, to the east. Closely related languages, East Frisian ("Seeltersk", which is different from "East Frisian (Ostfriesisch)", a collection of Low German dialects of East Frisia) and North Frisian, are spoken in the Saterland and in North Friesland areas in Germany, respectively.

Friesland is mainly an agricultural province. The famous black and white Friesian cattle and the well known black Friesian horse originated here. Tourism is another important source of income, the greatest touristic destinations are the lakes in the south west of the province, and the islands in the Wadden Sea in the north. Technology companies such as Asset Control have also set up base in Friesland.

The province is famous for its speed skaters, with mass participation in cross-country ice skating when weather conditions permit. When winters are cold enough to allow the freshwater canals to freeze hard, the province holds its traditional Elfstedentocht (Eleven cities tour), a 200 kilometers ice skating tour. In the warmer months, many Frisians practice wadlopen, the traditional art of wading across designated sections of the Wadden Sea at low tide. Another Frisian practice is fierljeppen, a sport with some similarities to pole vaulting. A jump consists of an intense sprint to the pole (polsstok), jumping and grabbing it, then climbing to the top while trying to control the pole's forward and lateral movements over a body of water and finishing with a graceful landing on a sand bed opposite to the starting point. Because of all the diverse skills required in fierljeppen, fierljeppers are considered to be very complete athletes with superbly developed strength and coordination. Another interesting feature is the presence of many windmills. There are 195 windmills in the province of Friesland, from a total of about 1200 in the entire country.

Leuven, Belgium

Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium. It is located about 30 kilometers east of Brussels, with as other neighbouring cities Mechelen, Aarschot, Tienen, and Wavre.

The township comprises the historical city of Leuven and the former municipalities of Heverlee, Kessel-Lo, a part of Korbeek-Lo, Wilsele and Wijgmaal.

It is home to Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewing group and one of the top five largest consumer goods companies in the world; and to the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the largest and oldest university of the Low Countries and the oldest Catholic university still in existence.

The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (in short K.U.Leuven) is the Flemish offshoot of the oldest university in the Low Countries which was originally founded in 1425 (see Catholi University of Leuven). Centrally located in the historic town of Leuven in Flanders, the K.U. Leuven is officially a Dutch-speaking institution. With 35,347 students in 2008-2009, the K.U. Leuven is also the largest university in the Low Countries. The university of Leuven was for centuries a major contributor to the development of Catholic theology. With predecessor institutions dating back to 1425, the K.U.Leuven and its French-speaking counterpart, the Université catholique de Louvain, are regarded as the oldest existing Catholic universities in the world.

The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven also has a campus at Kortrijk, formerly known as Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Afdeling Kortrijk (KULAK).

This nice card was sent to me by my friend Thomas Vanreusel