Turku

Turku is a city on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed to have been first settled around the end of the 13th century, making it the oldest city in Finland. It quickly became the most important city in Finland, a status it retained for hundreds of years. After Finland became part of the Russian Empire (1809), and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland was moved to Helsinki (1812), Turku continued to be the most populous city in Finland, until the end of the 1840s. Today it remains a regional capital and an important business and cultural center. This lovely card was sent to me by Pia. It shows Turku as seen from the tower of Turku Cathedral.  

Open Air Restaurant in Helsinki

This is a quaint little open air restaurant in Helsinki where my good friend Ella spends many of her lunch breaks I am sure. I would do the same if I were there :-))

Kamchatka Peninsula

The Kamchatka Peninsula   is a 1,250-kilometre (780 mi) peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about 270,000 km² (100,000 sq mi). It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west. Immediately offshore along the Pacific coast of the peninsula runs the 10,500-metre (34,400 ft) deep Kuril-Kamchatka Trench. The Kamchatka Peninsula, the Commander Islands, and Karaginsky Island constitute the Kamchatka Krai of the Russian Federation. The vast majority of the 322,079 inhabitants are Russians, but there are also about 8,743 Koryaks (2002). More than half of the population lives in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (179,526 people in 2010) and nearby Yelizovo (38,980).
The Kamchatka peninsula contains the Volcanoes of Kamchatka, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kamchatka receives up to 2,700 mm (110 in) of precipitation per year. The summers are moderately cool, and the winters tend to be rather stormy with rare amounts of lightning. Merja gave me this card which shows a Coast Guard vessel off the Kamchatka peninsula.

Rhinoceros Beetle

Dynastinae or rhinoceros beetles are a subfamily of the scarab beetle family. Other common names – some for particular groups of rhino beetles – are for example Hercules beetles, unicorn beetles or horn beetles. Over 300 species of rhinoceros beetles are known. Many rhinoceros beetles are well known for their bizarre shapes and large sizes. Some famous species are, for example, the Atlas beetle, common rhinoceros beetle, elephant beetle, European rhinoceros beetle, Hercules beetle, Japanese rhinoceros beetle or, ox beetle and the unicorn beetle. Rhinoceros beetles are popular as pets in parts of Asia, in part due to their being clean, easy to maintain and safe to handle. Also in Asia, male beetles are used for gambling fights. Since males naturally have the tendency to fight each other for the attention of females, they are the ones used for battle. To get the two male beetles to lock in combat, a female beetle or a small noisemaker is used to duplicate the female's mating call.
Some species can become major pests, e.g., in tree plantations. Usually though, beetle population densities are not as high as in some other pest insects, and food trees which are typically already sick or dying from some other cause are preferred. Some species' larvae, however, will attack healthy trees or even root vegetables, and when they occur in large numbers, can cause economically significant damage. 
Dr. MinJun Kim, leading a team of engineers in National Science Foundation-funded research, examined the function and aerodynamics of the Allomyrina dichotoma beetle, with the help of researchers in Drexel University's Mechanical Engineering Department and in collaboration with Konkuk University in South Korea. Rhinoceros beetles could play a big part in the next generation of aircraft design. Thank you Natalia for this lovely maxicard from Belarus.

Kherson, Ukraine

Kherson is a city in southern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kherson Oblast (province), and is designated as its own separate raion (district) within the oblast. Kherson is an important port on the Black Sea and Dnieper River, and the home of a major shipbuilding industry. The current estimated population is 329,000 (as of 2007).

Until 1774, the region belonged to the Crimean Khanate. Grigori Aleksandrovich Potemkin founded Kherson in 1778, on the orders of Catherine the Great. The city was built under the supervision of General Ivan Gannibal on the site of a small fortress called Aleksanderschanz. The name Kherson is a contraction of Chersonesos, an ancient Greek colony founded approximately 2500 years ago in the southwestern part of Crimea. One of the first buildings in the Kherson Fort was the Church of St. Catherine where Potemkin was eventually buried. The last tarpan was caught near Kherson in 1866.

Garden of Ukraine In the Kherson region has all conditions for the development of vegetable production. Perhaps it is time the region competes not just for the title of "Garden of the country”, and become "the garden of Europe"? Tourists visiting Kherson are known to call it the “Capital of Watermelon and Tomatoes”.

The picture on the card is of the Railway Station at Kherson, and it was sent to me from there by Anna.

Channel Squadron Gate

Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, stands in the centre of the island, on the Plain of the Mesorea, four hundred feet above the sea. It is connected with Larnaca by a carriage-road, which has recently been repaired and rendered available for an omnibus that piles daily between the fort and the capital. This road runs direct to the Channel Squadron Gate (so named by British blue-jackets when they took possession). The wall and gates are strongly built of stone, and are in good preservation, although traces of neglect and decay are to be met with everywhere around. The moslems, as a military people, have made languid and fitful attempts to keep the ramparts in repair, while within the walls they appear to have left nothing worth the cost of a siege. The air was tainted close to the gateway, for animals were being slaughtered in an enclosed space hard by. The poor, make-shift abodes in the immediate neighborhood are strangely at variance with relics of the ancient magnificence of Nicosia; and the motley crowd that now-a-days passes to and fro through the massive archway, would form a striking contrast to the chivalrous bands that followed in the train of the Lusignan Princes when the town became a royal residence. A writer of the fourteenth century states that the nobility of Cyprus were, at that time, the richest in the world. But they have passed away, and their wealth and fame are almost forgotten. What of their descendants? The writer heard a poor muleteer (a man of the fine physique and courtly bearing) boast that he was a descendant of one of the most noble families of Cyprus. Merja sent me this nice maxi card.

East Sea Ships

Latvia is a European state, which is situated on the coast of Baltic Sea. One of the three Baltic states, Latvia is bordered by Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, Russia to the east, Belarus on the south east, and the Baltic Sea on the west. The most famous travel spot is the capital Riga, a World Heritage Site. There are also many other great places to see, both urban and rural, such as Liepaja with its unique former secret military town of Karosta and a magnificent beach. Kuldiga with Europe’s widest waterfall and Cesis with its medieval castle ruins are also interesting. Tourists can also enjoy the wild beauty of Latvia's unspoilt seacoast, which is 500 km long and consists mainly of white, soft sandy beaches. Forests, which cover approximately a half of Latvia's territory, offer many nature trails and nature parks.

The stamp on this maxi card is one of a set of three which formed a set which was a Joint issue between Latvia and Lithuania Post, and was issued on May 10, 1997. My friend Merja sent me this extremely pretty maxi card. The ship shown on the card Battle-ship Das Wappen der Herzogin von Kurland (17th century). Shipbuilding flourished in the former Duchy of Kurland in present-day Latvia under Duke Jacob (1642-82). Ships were built at the Ventspils and Kuldiga shipyards, at first by German and Dutch, craftsmen invited by Duke Jacob, and later by local shipwrights. During Duke Jacob’s rule ships of all kinds of ships were built in Kurland, and not only for local needs but also for England, France, Spain and other countries. The biggest battle-ship built for Kurland itself, Das Wappen der Herzogin van Kurland was a four-decked three master armed with 72 naval guns and capable of holding 400 sailors and 100 soldiers. The ship was modelled after the English battleship Sovereign of the Seas.

Chief Buckskin Charley

Chief Sapiah was the leader of the Southern Ute tribe from 1880 until his death in 1936. He was born around 1840 in the Ute lands before settlements. He was recognized as Chief of the Mauche and Servero Bands and Principal Chief of the Capote. He succeeded Chief Ouray as the official treaty negotiator. He learned English and took the "white man's name" Charles Buck, but he was best known as Buckskin Charley. He led the rescue of women and children who were abducted during the Meeker massacre. In 1890, he was given the Rutherford Hayes Indian Peace Medal by President Benjamin Harrison. He rode with Geronimo in Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 Inaugural Parade. His son, Antonio Buck Sr., succeeded him as hereditary chief and became the first elected chairman of the Southern Ute tribe. Fred sent this wonderful card to me. Thank you Fred for the nice stamps on the card. They have an historical background too.

Dynamo Stadium (Minsk)

Dynamo Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Minsk, Belarus. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Dynamo Minsk. The stadium has a seating capacity for 40,000 people. Dynamo Stadium was constructed in 1934, but was destroyed during World War II and rebuilt in 1954. The stadium was one of the venues of the football tournament at the 1980 Summer Olympics and was used as the home venue of BATE Borisov for the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League group stage and 2011–12 UEFA Champions League play-off round. Kseniya sent this card to me.

Torronsuo National Park

Torronsuo National Park is a national park in the Tavastia Proper region of Finland. Even before its declaration as a national park in 1990, the near-natural state swamp area was a protected area. Its area is 25.5 square kilometres (9.85 sq mi). Tammela is a municipality of Finland. The first mention of a village named Tammela was in documents from 1423. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Tavastia Proper region. The municipality has a population of 6,559 (31 January 2012) and it covers an area of 715.12 square kilometres (276.11 sq mi) of which 74.72 square kilometres (28.85 sq mi) is inland water (2011-01-01). The population density is 10 inhabitants per square kilometre (26 /sq mi) (31 January 2012). The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Tammela is also a district in the city of Tampere.
The park area is a typical ombrotrophic raised bog – a thick turf layer with its middle part raising above its edges. The turf layer is one of the thickest measured among Finnish bogs, locally extending to 12 metres (39 ft). Torronsuo is valuable for its birdlife and butterfly species. Roughly a hundred species nest in the area. Part of the birds and insects are species that typically live in the northern areas, and they aren't seen much elsewhere in southern Finland. My friend Pia sent me this maxi card.

100 years of the incorporation of Floridsdorf into Vienna

This nice maximum card was sent to me by Daerden from Belgium. The card and the stamp on it were issued to commemorate 100 years of the incorporation of Floridsdorf into Vienna  Today's Floridsdorf, Vienna's 21st District, with an area of 44.46m2, stands on land cultivated and developed by early man. The discovery there of stone axes suggests that it was inhabited as early as the Neolithic Age (ca. 4000 to 2000 BC). Celts settled here around 500 BC and the whole settlement area to the north of the Danube, known to the Romans as "Transdanubia", was fought over first by Germanic tribes and later by other invading peoples such as the Lombards, Avars and the Slavs. The settlement was initially called "On the Peak" ("Am Spitz") and belonged to the seminary of Stift Klosterneuburg. In 1786, the prelate at that time, Floridus Leeb, gave 30 plots along the Schlosshofer road to settlers and it is from him that the area takes its present name "Floridsdorf". What began as a predominantly agricultural area rapidly grew and developed as a result of the Nordwestbahn railway, flourishing industries and the steam tramway, which opened in 1885. In 1894 its status was elevated to that of a town.
Throughout the ages Floridsdorf's survival depended on the Danube as an important trading route. At the same time the raging torrent with its countless tributaries and branches wreaked havoc each year with severe flooding. It was not until 1870-1875 that measures were taken to regulate the Danube. Between 1972 and 1988 the high water defences were again reinforced so that Floridsdorf, like the other districts which border on the Danube, has since been protected from flooding.

Machairas Monastery

This scenic card was sent to me by my dear friend Merja from Cyprus. Machairas is a historic monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary located about 40 km from the capital of Cyprus, Nicosia. It lies at an altitude of about 900 m and was founded at the end of the 12th century close to the current village of Lazanias. The monastery is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and officially celebrates the feast of the Entrance of the Virgin Mary to the Temple (Eisodia) on the 21st of November.

Legend has it that an unknown hermit smuggled one of the 70 icons said to have been painted by Luke the Apostle secretly from Asia Minor to Cyprus. This icon of the Virgin Mary remained in its hiding place until the arrival of two other hermits from Palestine in 1145: Neophytos and Ignatius who stumbled across the icon in a cave. To reach it, they had to machete their way into the cave through the thick plant growth, so the icon assumed the name 'Machairotissa' in reference to the Greek word for knife (Makhaira). The whole monastery founded on this site takes its name from this icon.
Following the death of Neophytos, Ignatios travelled with Prokopios (another hermit) to Constantinople in the year 1172 where they succeeded in obtaining financial assistance from the then Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos. The monastery was also granted ownership of the entire mountain on which it is now situated and the status of stavropegion (meaning it remained independent of the area bishopric). The initial monastery was then enlarged by the monk Neilos in the early 13th century. He became the first abbot of the monastery (later he even became bishop of Tamassos). The monastery received further grants from two other Byzantine emperors: Emperor Isaac II Angelos granted cash and land in Nicosia and Emperor Alexios III Angelos donated 24 serfs. 

SS Rotterdam

The fifth SS Rotterdam, known as "The Grande Dame", was launched by Queen Juliana in a gala ceremony on 13 September 1958, and completed the following summer. The Rotterdam was the last great Dutch "ship of state", employing the finest artisans from the Netherlands in her construction and fitting out process. With a career spanning forty years, she was also one of the most successful passenger ships of all time. She sailed from 1959 until her final retirement in September 2000.

On July 12, 2004, she arrived at Gibraltar for asbestos encapsulation and removal performed by the Cuddy Group of the UK. She next visited Cadiz where her hull was repainted its original Holland America grey, and then moved on to Poland and Germany for final restoration. She returned to the city of Rotterdam on August 8, 2008. She opened to the public on February 15, 2010 as a combination museum/hotel and school for vocational training. This pretty card was sent to me by Ans.

Turku Castle

Turku Castle is a monument of Finnish history situated in the city of Turku in Finland. Together with Turku Cathedral, the castle is one of the oldest buildings still in use in Finland. Turku Castle is the largest surviving medieval building in Finland. It stands as a national monument, on the banks of the Aura River, as it has done since the 14th century.

Many accidents have assailed the castle, especially numerous sieges. In 1614, when King Gustav II Adolf visited the castle, a tremendous fire destroyed the wooden structure of the main castle almost completely. After this the main castle was abandoned and used partly as a store, partly just stood empty. A new accident beset the castle in the summer of 1941 soon after the Continuation War had begun when an incendiary bomb hit the main castle.

The renovation of the castle, which was begun before the Second World War and interrupted by Finland's two wars with the Soviet Union, was completed in 1987. The castle was handed over to its users completely restored on 12 October 1993. The building is owned and maintained by the Finnish state and is entrusted to the use of the city of Turku. The castle functions in its entirety as a historical museum as part of the Turku provincial museum. In the main part of the castle are banquet rooms for the city of Turku, a church for the local congregation and also restaurants in both the main castle and the bailey. Today the castle is once more experiencing a heyday as it has achieved the status of being one of Finland's most visited museums. My friend Pia sent me this card.

The Little Mermaid of Copenhagen

Thank you Pia for this nice card from Denmark with The Little Mermaid  which is a statue of a mermaid in Langelinie, Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. Based on the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, the small and unimposing statue (with a height of 1.25 metres (4 ft) is a Copenhagen icon and a major tourist attraction. The statue was commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of Carlsberg, who had been fascinated by a ballet about the fairytale in Copenhagen's Royal Theatre and asked the prima ballerina, Ellen Price, to model for the statue. The sculptor Edvard Eriksen created the bronze statue, which was unveiled on 23 August 1913. The statue's head was modelled after Price, but as the ballerina did not agree to model in the nude, the sculptor's wife, Eline Eriksen, was used for the body.

The Copenhagen City Council decided to move the statue to Shanghai at the Danish Pavilion for the duration of the Expo 2010 (from May to October), the first time it had been moved from its perch since it was installed almost a century earlier.

Vandalism of the statue. This statue has been damaged and defaced many times since the mid-1960s for various reasons, but has each time been restored. In 2006, Copenhagen officials announced that the statue may be moved farther out in the harbour, as to avoid further vandalism and to prevent tourists from climbing onto it. On April 24, 1964, the statue's head was sawn off and stolen by politically oriented artists of the Situationist movement, amongst them Jørgen Nash. The head was never recovered and a new head was produced and placed on the statue. On July 22, 1984, the right arm was sawn off and returned two days later by two young men. In 1990, an attempt to sever the statue's head left a cut in the neck 18 centimeters (7 in) deep. In 2004, she was draped in a burqa as a statement against Turkey joining the European Union. In May 2007, the statue was again found draped in a Muslim dress and head scarf.

The statue displayed in Copenhagen harbour has always been a copy; the sculptor's heirs keep the original at an undisclosed location. Undamaged copies of the statue are located in Solvang, California; Kimballton, Iowa; Piatra Neamţ, Romania and a half-sized copy in Calgary, Canada. The grave of Danish-American entertainer Victor Borge, includes a copy as well. A copy of the statue forms the Danish contribution to the International Peace Gardens in Salt Lake City. The half-size replica was stolen on 26 February 2010, but was recovered on 7 April, evidently abandoned in the park after the thief became nervous about being caught with it.

Troodos National Forest Park

The Troodos National Forest Park is at the centre of the island of  Cyprus and covers an area of about 9,000 hectares. The highest point is Chionistra or Mount Olympus at 1,952 metres (also the highest point on the island) and the lowest is Moni forest at 700 metres. The park is suitable for myriad activities ranging from picnics to hiking, skiing and mountain biking. There are 10 nature trails which cover over 50 Km. The park contains 12th to 15th century frescoed churches, winemaking villages and pine forests. There are also monasteries dating from the Byzantine period. The best known and most beautifully restored of these is Kykkos, built in the 12th century (Refer to my post dated     ). The main resorts of the Troodos are Platres and Kakopetria, attractive villages with bakeries, shops and an alpine atmosphere. Over 750 plant species can be found in the area, making Troodos National Forest Park the richest botanical garden of Cyprus. 12 of these species can only be found in Troodos National Forest Park.
As for fauna, within the park live among other species: ravens, Bonelli's eagles, Treecreepers and Griffon vultures. The distinctive geology of Troodos Forest area has been studied by scientists from around the world. The rock types and formations found in the Troodos area allow scientists a better understanding of how the sea bed of the Sea of Tethys was formed 90-million years ago. Along many trails in the forest, examples of plutonic rock, formed far under the bed of the Sea of Tethys, can be seen. This nice maximum card was given to me by my dear friend Merja.

Old Porvoo riverside

Porvoo  is a city and a municipality situated on the southern coast of Finland approximately 50 kilometres (30 mi) east of Helsinki. Porvoo is one of the six medieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from 14th century. Porvoo is the seat of the Swedish speaking Diocese of Borgå of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. The card sent to me by my dear friend Ella shows a pretty picture of the Old Porvoo riverside, featuring wooden storage buildings

The town received its name from a Swedish earth fortress near the river Porvoonjoki which flows through the town. The name Porvoo is the Fennicised version of the Swedish name (Borgå) and its parts of borg meaning "castle" and å "river". 

The Flag of Detroit

The flag of the city of Detroit, Michigan, was designed in 1907 by David E. Heineman and was officially adopted as the city's flag in 1948.

The flag has the city seal emblazoned on quartered background, with each section representing a country that once controlled the city. The lower hoist (left) quarter represents France, which founded the fort and settlement in 1701; it has five gold fleurs-de-lis on a white field. The upper fly (right) quarter represents Britain, which controlled the fort from 1760 to 1796. It has three gold lions on a red field. The lower fly has 13 red and white stripes and the upper hoist has 13 white stars on a blue field, representing the original thirteen colonies of the United States.

The two Latin mottos read Speramus Meliora and Resurget Cineribus, meaning "We hope for better things" and "It will rise from the ashes," which was written by Gabriel Richard after the fire of 1805. The seal is a representation of the Detroit fire, which occurred on June 11, 1805. The fire caused the entire city to burn with only one building saved from the flames. The figure on the left weeps over the destruction while the figure on the right gestures to the new city that will rise in its place. This very symbolic card was sent to me by Jill

Fountains of Pershamaiskaya Street

Mogilev also spelled  Mahilyow, is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. As of 2011, its population was 360,918. It is the administrative centre of Mahilyow voblast and the third largest city in Belarus. The picture on the card is of the Fountains in Pershamaiskaya street in Mogilev.  Alina sent me this card.

Ibirapuera Park

Karina sent me this lovely card featuring The Ibirapuera Park, a major urban park in São Paulo, Brazil. It has a large area for leisure, jogging and walking, as well as a convention centre. Its importance to São Paulo is comparable to that of the Central Park to New York City. The Ibirapuera is one of Latin America largest city parks, together with Chapultepec Park, in Mexico City and Simón Bolívar Park in Bogota. Inaugurated in 1954 for the 400th anniversary of the city, with buildings designed by famous architect Oscar Niemeyer and landscape by designer Roberto Burle Marx, Ibirapuera Park covers an area of almost 2 square kilometres (0.77 sq mi). It is the second biggest park in the city.

The park complex has many interesting features for residents and visitors. They include: The Grande Marquise ("The great marquee"), location of the MAM - Museu de Arte Moderna] ("Modern Art Museum"); The Cicillo Matarazzo Pavilion, home for the Museum of Contemporary Art, University of São Paulo, and a space for events and expos, including the São Paulo Art Biennial and the São Paulo Fashion Week; The Manoel da Nóbrega Pavilion, which until 1992 was the city hall; The Lucas Nogueira Garcez Pavilion, formerly known as "Palácio das Exposições"("Expositions Palace") and now known as the Oca ("hut", given its round shape), which harbors both the Museu da Aeronáutica ("Air Force Museum") and the Museu do Folclore ("Folklore Museum"); The Armando de Arruda Pereira Pavilion, home for the Prodam - Companhia de Processamento de Dados do Município ("Municipal Data Processing Company"); The Palácio da Agricultura ("Agriculture Palace"), home of Detran, municipal transit department. The building was originally intended to harbor the municipal agriculture department; The Planetarium and Municipal Astrophysics School. The Planetarium building which is shaped like a flying saucer. It was the first Planetarium in the Southern Hemisphere and has a dome, which is 20 meters in diameter. The German projection machine shows the sky above São Paulo from dusk to dawn. During the projection a professional astronomer explains the most famous stars and constellations as well as the movements of the Earth and other planets; The Gymnasium; The Japanese Pavilion; The Monumento às Bandeiras; The Ibirapuera Auditorium, controversial building that was on the original Niemeyer plan, but was only built recently; The Obelisk of São Paulo, symbol of the Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932 and the statue of Pedro Alvares Cabral that proclaims "Brazilians owe everything to Portugal."