Have a nice Summer

Towe from Sweden wishes "Have a nice Summer" with this nice card.

Thank you Towe, hope you have a great Summer too.

Indian Silver - Åland's most successful trotting horse

Åland's most successful trotting horse so far was Indian Silver. Out of 61 starts, Indian Silver won 24 races.

Indian Silver had his breakthrough in 1997 at the age of four. This was the year he was housed for professional training at Stig H Johansson stables, one of the most reputed jockeys and trainers in Swedish trotting history.
Indian Silver's track record includes wins in Eliterennen in Gelsenkirchen, Copenhagen Cup and Momarken Grand Prix. Out of 61 starts, Indian Silver won 24, was placed second 12 times and third 7 times. He was in the Swedish Elitloppet final twice. In 2009, Indian Silver died from colic.
Founded in 1936, Ålandstravet - Åland Equestrian Association arranges harness racing, dressage, show jumping and Icelandic horse racing. In 2015, six harness racing events will take place at Ålandstravet.

Thank you Ella.

President's image of Åland women 1.5.2015

"Åland women" was President Tarja Halonen's choice of theme when asked to contribute to the My Åland stamp series. This postcard featuring the famous sea-farer Mimmi Widbom was issued on 1.5.2015.

Serafina Wilhelmina "Mimmi" Widbom was an extraordinary woman of her time being, as she was, a professional seafarer. She worked as cook and chief steward on several of Åland shipowner Gustaf Erikson's ships in the early 1900s. Mimmi Widbom rounded Cape Horn eight times and she made her last voyage as active sailor in 1943.
President Tarja Halonen is the third President of Finland to participate in Åland Post stamp series My Åland, which offers celebrities with a connection to Aland an opportunity to illustrate their opinion of the Aland province and personal view of Aland. In 2004, President Mauno Koivisto's stamp was issued, and President Martti Ahtisaari's stamp appeared in 2009. 

Thank you Ella.

Finnish Summer

Thank you Ari for this lovely card of the Finnish Summer that you guys are enjoying. The strawberries make my mouth water. I believe it is 15 to 18 degrees in your part of the world.

Its not too bad here in New Delhi where I live. The day before yesterday was the highest so far this Summer - only 44.5. Not bad eh! :-))

Moscow - View of the Arc de Triomphe and the Poklonnaya Hill

The third and the oldest surviving Triumphal Arch in Moscow was built in 1829–34 on Tverskaya Gate Square to Joseph Bové's designs in order to commemorate Russia's victory over Napoleon. It replaced an earlier wooden structure built by the veterans of the Napoleonic Wars in 1814.

The arch was built in brick and lined with ashlar. The columns and statues were of cast iron. A seiuga (six-horse chariot) was designed by Giovanni Vitali. The bilingual inscription in Russian and Latin ran as follows:

To the blessed memory of Alexander I who raised from ashes and adorned with many memorials of paternal care this former capital that had been committed to the mercy of fire during the invasion of the Gauls and twelve other nations.

The arch was dismantled in 1936 as part of Joseph Stalin's reconstruction of downtown Moscow. Vitali's sculptures were then put on exhibit at an architectural museum on the grounds of the former Donskoy Monastery. After the Second World War there were plans to rebuild the structure in front of the Belarussian Railway Station.

The current arch was built to Bove's original designs in 1966–68 in the middle of Kutuzovsky Avenue, close to the Victory Park. An open space surrounding the arch is known as the Victory Square.

Thank you Natasha for this nice card.

Lín Qīngxiá

Brigitte Lin (Lín Qīngxiá) or Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia (born 3 November 1954) is a Taiwanese actress. She was a popular actress, regarded as an icon of Chinese cinema, who acted in both Taiwanese and Hong Kong movies. She retired in 1994, although she had a minor role in the 1998 film Bishonen.

She was born in Taipei, and was "discovered" in 1972 by a film producer, and first appeared in many Taiwanese romance films based on the novels of Chiung Yao. Her movie debut is in Chuangwai. She later switched over to making movies in Hong Kong. At the height of her popularity she was arguably one of the most sought-after actresses in the Chinese film industry. She starred in more than 100 movies.

In Hong Kong movies, Lin made a career of playing transgender roles: in Peking Opera Blues she plays a tomboy who dresses in male Western clothes; in New Dragon Gate Inn she is a woman who dresses as a man, and in Swordsman II and III she plays a male character who castrates himself for power and so is now slowly turning into a woman. She had a good working relationship with Tsui Hark, acting in many of the films he directed (like Peking Opera Blues) and produced (Swordsman II).

She married businessman Michael Ying in 1994 and left the film industry. She has two daughters, born in 1997 and 2001. She made her first public appearance since her marriage at a screening of Ashes of Time Redux at the 2008 New York Film Festival.

My friend Aiting send me this lovely card.

Hamburg

This nice card sent to me by Marivi shows Hamburg Harbour, with the  "Sea Cloud II" on the Elbe. One can also see the St. Pauli and Michaelis Churches.