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

Finland

My Dear Friend Outi Makinen who lives in Helsinki, Finland sent these two lovely cards of sailing ships to me. The ship shown on top is the Suomen Joutsen (Finnish Swan) I had written about it in my post on 23^rd November 2009. The ship shown below the Joutsen is the Herzogin Cecile (Cecile of Herzog). These ships were active around 1900.

Odessa, Ukraine

Welcome to Odessa says the card sent to me by my friend Stanislav. These are the famous steps in Odessa.

China

This picture is from Hubei. It shows the Memorial Hall of the Wuchang Uprising of the Revolution in 1911. Card was sent by Huang.

China

A really cute Angler, isn't she? Card was sent to me by Madam Wu Hong Yan from Beijing.

Italy

These views are from the lovely town in Northern Italy. The card was sent by my friend Anita of Austria.

The Brandenburg Gate.

The Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) is a former city gate and one of the main symbols of Berlin and Germany. It is located west of the city center at the intersection of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which one formerly entered Berlin. One block to the north stands the Reichstag building. The gate is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden, the renowned boulevard of linden trees which formerly led directly to the city palace of the Prussian monarchs. It was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia as a sign of peace and built by Carl Gotthard Langhans from 1788 to 1791. The Brandenburg Gate was restored from 2000 to 2002 by the Stiftung Denkmalschutz Berlin (Berlin Monument Conservation Foundation). Today, it is considered one of Europe's most famous landmarks.