Centenary of the “Chemins de fer de provence”

The stamp on this maxi card and the card itself were issued to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the “Chemins de fer de provence” an old railway company located in the south of France which is now running a unique route between Nice and Digne-les-bains. This route, that opened in 1911, is locally referred as the “train des pignes” (the pine nuts train) as indicated on the stamp.

In 1861, Alphonse Beau de Rochas, an engineer from Digne who invented the four-stroke internal-combustion engine, wanted to link Nice, annexed to France the previous year, to Grenoble via the Var Valley, Digne-les-Bains and Gap. But, it was not until 1882 that the military authorities granted their approval for the project, which could then begin. To adapt to the very rugged relief, the engineers chose to build a narrow-gauge railway: a 1-metre gauge - instead of the standard 1.40 metres - provided for tighter curves (100 metres instead of 300 metres) and lower construction costs. In all, there are no less than twenty-five tunnels, sixteen viaducts and fifteen metal bridges on the line’s 150 kilometres.

The ‘Train des Pignes’ (pinecone railway) finally reached Nice in 1911 and was inaugurated on 3 July.
Despite many obstacles - climate, finances, the rising popularity of automobiles, war... - and thanks to close fruitful cooperation with local economic players (local communities, schools, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, travel agencies, associations), CFSF- Chemins de Fer de Provence was able to anchor the railway in the local economic fabric, thereby offering regular transport by train from the Mediterranean Sea to the Alps, also revealing the wealth of the cultural and tourist heritage of the 30 communes along the line. This pretty maximum card was given to me by my dear friend Maria.

Parliament House in Budapest

As the millennial celebrations of 1896 approached, the nation's demand for representation channelled the conception of a unique Parliament building. The Palace of Westminster in part inspired the design, but a well-known Hungarian architect, Imre Steindl, laid out the plans in their entirety. The building stretches 268 meters in its length, along the Danube embankment. Ornamented with white neo-gothic turrets and arches, it forms the most outstanding landmark of the Pest side horizon. Statues of Hungarian monarchs and military commanders decorate the outer walls. The unique interior design includes huge halls, over 12,5 miles of corridors, a 96-meter high central dome, and 691 rooms. When the Parliament is not in session, all these can be visited (cameras are allowed); tours are offered in English, French, German, Russian, Hebrew, Japanese, Italian and Spanish.

The Hungarian Parliament Building is the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary, one of Europe's oldest legislative buildings, a notable landmark of Hungary and a popular tourist destination of Budapest. It lies in Lajos Kossuth Square, on the bank of the Danube, in Budapest. It is currently the largest building in Hungary. Similar to the Palace of Westminster, the Parliament Building is in the Gothic Revival style; it has a symmetrical facade and a central dome. It is 268 m (879 ft) long and 123 m (404 ft) wide. Its interior includes 10 courtyards, 13 passenger and freight elevators, 27 gates, 29 staircases and 691 rooms (including more than 200 offices). With its height of 96 m (315 ft), it is one of the two tallest buildings in Budapest, along with Saint Stephen's Basilica. The number 96 refers to the nation's millennium, 1896, and the conquest of the later Kingdom of Hungary in 896. The main façade faces the River Danube, but the official main entrance is from the square in front of the building. Inside and outside, there are altogether 242 sculptures on the walls.

On the façade, statues of Hungarian rulers, Transylvanian leaders and famous military people are displayed. Over the windows, there are pictures of coats of arms of kings and dukes. The main entrance is the stairs located on the eastern side, bordered by two lions. When entering the Parliament, visitors can walk up great ornamental stairs, see frescoes on the ceiling and pass by the bust of the creator, Imre Steindl, in a wall niche. Other statues include those of Árpád, Stephen I and John Hunyadi. One of the famous parts of the building is the hexadecagonal (sixteen-sided) central hall, with huge chambers adjoining it: the Lower House (today the National Assembly meets here) and the Upper House (until 1945). The Holy Crown of Hungary, which is also depicted in the coat of arms of Hungary, has been displayed in the central hall since 2000.

Further features include the stained glass and glass mosaic paintings by Miksa Róth. Due to its extensive surface and its detailed handiwork, the building is almost always under renovation. During the Communist regime, the government added a large red star to the central steeple at the dome of the building, but after its downfall, the star was removed from the steeple. This pretty post card was sent to me by Katalin from Budapest. She pasted some pretty stamps on the card too.

Rose Garden Lakes in Palermo, Buenos Aires

Viviana my friend in Argentina sent me this lovely card of Parque Tres de Febrero, also known as the Bosques de Palermo ("Palermo Woods"), is a city park of 25 hectares (62 acres) located in the neighborhood of Palermo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Located between Libertador and Figueroa Alcorta Avenues, it is known for its groves, lakes, and rose gardens (El Rosedal). Following the 1852 overthrow of strongman Juan Manuel de Rosas, his extensive northside Buenos Aires properties became public lands and, in 1862, a municipal ordinance provided for a city park on most of that land. On the initiative of Congressman Vicente Fidel López and President Domingo Sarmiento, work began in 1874 on Parque Tres de Febrero (February 3 Park), named in honour of February 3, 1852, the date of the defeat of Governor Rosas, among whose opponents had been Sarmiento. Designed by urbanist Jordán Czeslaw Wysocki and architect Julio Dormal, the park was inaugurated on November 11, 1875. The dramatic economic growth of Buenos Aires afterwards helped to lead to its transfer to the municipal domain in 1888, whereby French Argentine urbanist Carlos Thays was commissioned to expand and further beautify the park, between 1892 and 1912. Thays designed the Zoological Gardens, the Botanical Gardens, the adjoining Plaza Italia and the Rose Garden.

The Andalusian Patio and Munument to the Four Argentine Regions (the "Spaniards' Monument") were added in 1927, the Municipal Velodrome in 1951 and the Galileo Galilei planetarium, in 1966. Its Modernist architecture is distinctive in the city—a sphere supported by three arches. A popular field trip destination for the city's schoolchildren, the planets and other astronomical phenomena are projected on the dome, inside. The demolition of the original Japanese Garden in the Retiro area led to the 1967 opening of the current Buenos Aires Japanese Gardens, the World's largest outside Japan. An Edwardian-style former café on the grounds became the Eduardo Sívori Museum in 1996.

Many people use the park everyday, both on foot and bicycle, and this number increases greatly at the weekends. Boat rides are available on the three artificial lakes within the park. Close to the boating lake is the Poets' Garden, with stone and bronze busts of renown poets, including Jorge Luis Borges and William Shakespeare.

National personification of Finland

The Maiden of Finland is the national personification of Finland. She is a barefoot young woman in her mid-twenties with often-braided blonde hair, blue eyes, wearing a blue and white national costume or a white dress. She was originally called Aura after the Aura River in Turku. As a symbol, the Finnish Maiden has been used since the 19th century when she was pictured as a woman wearing a turreted crown, and then developing as Finland gained a national consciousness and independence.

The Maiden of Finland can also refer to the shape of Finland on the map. With a little imagination it looks like a female form, which has one hand, raised (and another before the Moscow Armistice of 1944), a head, and a skirt. The metaphor is so commonly used that the northwestern area around Enontekiö is known as the Arm (Käsivarsi) even in official contexts. My dear friend Pia sent me this card.

St. Angelo’s Castle, Rome

The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum.

The tomb of the Roman emperor Hadrian, also called Hadrian's mole, was erected on the right bank of the Tiber, between 135 AD and 139 AD. Originally the mausoleum was a decorated cylinder, with a garden top and golden quadriga. Hadrian's ashes were placed here a year after his death in Baiae in 138 AD, together with those of his wife Sabina, and his first adopted son, Lucius Aelius, who also died in 138 AD. Following this, the remains of succeeding emperors were also placed here, the last recorded deposition being Caracalla in 217 AD. The urns containing these ashes were probably placed in what is now known as the Treasury room deep within the building. Hadrian also built the Pons Aelius facing straight onto the mausoleum – it still provides a scenic approach from the centre of Rome and the right bank of the Tiber, and is renowned for the Baroque additions of statues of angels holding aloft elements of the Passion of Christ. My dear friend Maria sent me this card.

“Mr. Flying Finn” of Rally Driving

Timo Mäkinen (born 18 March 1938 in Helsinki, Finland) was one of the original "Flying Finns" of motor rallying. He is most famous for his hat tricks of wins in the RAC Rally and the 1000 Lakes Rally. Mäkinen's start in international rallying came in the 1959 1000 Lakes Rally (now Rally Finland), in a Triumph TR3. He later drove works Austin-Healeys and Minis. In the big Healey, he finished fifth in the RAC Rally in 1963. Mäkinen drove Minis during most of 1964 but came second in the RAC Rally in a Healey, at the end of that year. He returned to the Mini Cooper S in 1965, winning the Monte Carlo Rally and the 1000 Lakes. He came second in the 1965 RAC Rally, again in a Healey.

In 1967, Timo Mäkinen drove his Mini at a high speed through the famous Ouninpohja stage of the 1000 Lakes with the car's bonnet open. Leather straps holding the bonnet were not thoroughly tightened, and they opened after a few rough bounces. He tried to put his head out of the side window but his helmet was too big and he could only stick his head halfway out. So he had to skid the car sideways continuously to see the road ahead. Even so Mäkinen was third fastest on that special stage and he also won the rally overall, for the third year in a row. In 1975, Mäkinen won the RAC for the third time in a row, at the wheel of a Ford Escort, preceded only by Erik Carlsson (Saab 96) in that feat. Mäkinen won the Finnish Rally Championship three times, the ice track championship six times and the saloon car race championship three times. In 1969, Mäkinen competed in the very first Round Britain Powerboat Race, which he won. In 1994, Mäkinen made a brief return as Mini celebrated the 30th anniversary of their 1964 Monte Carlo win by Paddy Hopkirk, who also participated in the race. Mäkinen retired on the second stage with a fuel system problem. My dear friend Merja gave me this maxi card.

Montenegro the pearl of the Mediterranean

Montenegro, the pearl of the Mediterranean, unique in many ways is situated in the south of the Adriatic. There is nowhere else that you can find, in such a small place, so much natural wealth, beauty, mild beaches, clear lakes, fast rivers and gorgeous mountains – like you can in the small country of Montenegro. In the morning you can wake up along the beautiful Adriatic coast, have lunch on the banks of Skadar Lake, and enjoy the evening walks in the Montenegrin Mountains. Montenegro is a place that cannot leave you indifferent.

Montenegro meaning "Black Mountain" is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the southeast. Its capital and largest city is Podgorica, while Cetinje is designated as the Prijestonica , meaning the former Royal Capital City. This lovely card was sent to me by my friend Karoly.