Greetings from Heidelberg

Heidelberg is a city in south-west Germany. The fifth-largest city in the State of Baden Württemberg after Stuttgart,Mannheim, Karlsruhe and Freiburg im Breisgau, Heidelberg is part of the densely populated Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region. In 2011, over 149,000 people lived in the city. Heidelberg lies on the River Neckar in a steep valley in the Odenwald.

A former residence of the Electorate of the Palatinate, Heidelberg is the location of Heidelberg University, well known far beyond Germany's borders. Heidelberg is a popular tourist destination due to its romantic and picturesque cityscape, including Heidelberg Castle and the baroque style Old Town.

Thank you Gabriele and Lisa for this nice card.

The Venus of Willendorf

This interesting card was sent to me by Daniela from Austria. The Venus of Willendorf, now known in academia as the Woman of Willendorf, is an 11 cm (4.3 in) high statuette of a female figure estimated to have been made between 24,000 and 22,000 BCE. It was found in 1908 by a workman named Johann Veran or Josef Veram during excavations conducted by archaeologists Josef Szombathy, Hugo Obermaier and Josef Bayer at a paleolithic site near Willendorf, a village in Lower Austria near the city of Krems. It is carved from an oolitic limestone that is not local to the area, and tinted with red ochre. The "Venus of Willendorf" is now in the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria.

Several similar statuettes and other forms of art have been discovered, and they are collectively referred to as Venus figurines, although they pre-date the mythological figure of Venus by millennia.

After a wide variety of proposed dates, following a revised analysis of the stratigraphy of its site in 1990, the figure has been estimated to have been carved 24,000–22,000 BCE. Very little is known about its origin, method of creation, or cultural significance.

The purpose of the carving is the subject of much speculation. It never had feet and does not stand on its own. The apparent large size of the breasts and abdomen, and the detail put into the vulva, have led scholars to interpret the figure as a fertility symbol. The figure has no visible face, her head being covered with circular horizontal bands of what might be rows of plaited hair, or a type of headdress.

The nickname, urging a comparison to the classical image of "Venus," is now controversial. According to Christopher Witcombe, "the ironic identification of these figurines as 'Venus' pleasantly satisfied certain assumptions at the time about the primitive, about women, and about taste." Catherine McCoid and LeRoy McDermott hypothesize that the figurines may have been created as self-portraits.

São 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, as well as being 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 and many major bus routes. The avenue, which was inaugurated in December 1891, is generally regarded as the most expensive real estate anywhere in Latin America.

Thank you Sarah for this card.

The Billiard Room

Located in the Bachelor’s Wing of George W. Vanderbilt’s country chateau, the Billiard Room was a place where men would retire after dinner to smoke and play billiards. True to Victorean fashion, women rarely, if ever, entered this male domain.

The Billiard Room, part of Biltmore House’s Bachelor's Wing. Decorated with an ornamental plaster ceiling and rich oak paneling the Billiard Room was equipped with both a pool table and a carom table (table without pockets.) This room was mostly an attraction to men, yet welcoming the ladies if they chose to stop by.  Secret door panels on either side of the fireplace led to the private quarters of the Bachelors’ Wing.

Thank you very much indeed Sarah for this nice card.

Mount Fuji

THIS CARD HIGHLIGHTS THE COMMON SENSE OF THE STUPID, CALLOUS AND ILLITERATE POSTAL WORKER IN THE NEW DELHI POST OFFICE WHO STAMPED THIS CARD THE WAY HE DID.

Mount Fuji located on Honshu Island, is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776.24 m (12,389 ft). An active strato-volcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about 100 kilometres (60 mi) south-west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone, which is snow-capped several months a year, is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and photographs, as well as visited by sightseers and climbers. It is one of Japan's "Three Holy Mountains" along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku; it is a Special Place of Scenic Beauty, a Historic Site, and was added to the World Heritage List as a Cultural Site on June 22nd, 2013.

The mountain has been selected as a “cultural” rather than a “natural” heritage site. As per UNESCO, Mount Fuji has “inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries”. The 25 locations include the mountain itself, Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha and six other Sengen shrines, two lodging houses, Lake Yamanaka, Lake Kawaguchi, the eight Oshino Hakkai hot springs, two lava tree molds, the remains of the Fuji-kō cult in the Hitoana cave, Shiraito Falls, and Miho no Matsubara pine tree grove.

Thank you Fuchico for this card.

Liberec, Czech Republic.

Liberec is a city in the Czech Republic. Located on the Lusatian Neisse and surrounded by the Jizera Mountains and Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge, it is the fifth-largest city in the Czech Republic.

Settled by German and Flemish migrants since the 14th century until their expulsion after World War II, Liberec was once home to a thriving textile industry and hence nicknamed the "Manchester of Bohemia".

For many Czechs, Liberec is mostly associated with the city's dominant Ještěd Tower (please see mypost dated March 06, 2010). Since the end of the 19th century, the city has been a conurbation with the suburb of Vratislavice and the neighboring town of Jablonec nad Nisou. Therefore the total area with suburbs encompasses 150,000 inhabitants. This makes Liberec the third-largest city (with suburbs) in Bohemia after Prague and Pilsen.

Thank you Petr for this nice card which shows many views of Liberec.

The Zielona Góra Wine Festival

The Zielona Góra Wine Fest (Polish: Winobranie w Zielonej Górze) is a wine festival held in the Polish town of Zielona Gora. The tradition is related to the period of harvest of grapes from the local vineyards which were then turned into wine. The first festival took place in October 1852. Nowadays it starts in the first or second week of September and lasts for nine days.

The festivities start on a Saturday with a parade through the city centre. It is preceded by a symbolic ceremony when the Roman wine god Bacchus and his Maenads receive the keys to the town from the local authorities. During the nine days a lot of cultural and sport events take place, among which the International Festival of Folklore is one of the most prominent. There are also theatre meetings (including street theatres) and music concerts.

The centre of the town turns into a big marketplace for the time of the fest, with a separate street allotted for the antiques market.

Thank you Dear Jadwiga for this nice card.