Polynesia

A little About the Polynesia 

This legendary 248-foot schooner was acquired by Windjammer in 1975 and christened Polynesia. Originally built in 1938 and christened Argus, she was one of the last of the Portuguese Grand Banks fleet. She was featured in the May 1952 edition of National Geographic magazine and in the late maritime writer, Allen Villers’ book, “The Quest for the Schooner Argus.” Under her new name, Polynesia, she was completely refurbished and air conditioned to blend today's comfort with yesterday's romance and grace, with comfortable luxury accommodations, while still retaining the charm of her maritime history.  

When Windjammer Barefoot Cruises ceased operations in 2007, Polynesia was acquired by Portuguese interests, returned to Portugal and renamed Argus, where she will be providing sail training to youth, a great next step for a true classic.

Thank you Yunju for this lovely card.

Mainz

"Greetings from Mainz" says the card. This pretty card was sent to me by Alexandra.
Mainz is the capital of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It was the capital of the Electorate of Mainz at the time of the Holy Roman Empire. In antiquity Mainz was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire; it was founded as a military post by the Romans in the late 1st century BC. The city is located on the river Rhine at its confluence with the Main opposite Wiesbaden, in the western part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main; in the modern age, Frankfurt shares much of its regional importance.

The city is famous as the home of the invention of the movable-type printing press, as the first books printed using movable type were manufactured in Mainz by Gutenberg in the early 1450s. Until the twentieth century, Mainz was usually referred to in English as Mayence.

Mainz is located on the 50th latitude, on the west bank of the river Rhine, opposite the confluence of the Main with the Rhine. The population in the early 2012 was 200,957, an additional 18,619 people maintain a primary residence elsewhere but have a second home in Mainz. The city is part of the Rhein Metro area comprising 5.8 million people. Mainz can easily be reached from Frankfurt International Airport in 25 minutes by commuter railway.

Nijō Castle, Kyoto

Nijō Castle is a flatland castle located in Kyoto, Japan. The castle consists of two concentric rings of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and several gardens. The surface area of the castle is 275,000 square meters, of which 8000 square meters is occupied by buildings.

In 1601, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, ordered all the feudal lords in Western Japan to contribute to the construction of Nijō Castle, which was completed during the reign of Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1626. Parts of Fushimi Castle, such as the main tower and the karamon, were moved here in 1625-26. It was built as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns. The Tokugawa Shogunate used Edo as the capital city, but Kyoto continued to be the home of the Imperial Court. Kyoto Imperial Palace is located north-east of Nijo Castle.

The central keep, or donjon, was struck by lightning and burned to the ground in 1750. In 1788, the Inner Palace was destroyed by a city-wide fire. The site remained empty until it was replaced by a prince's residence transferred from the Kyoto Imperial Palace in 1893. In 1867, the Ninomaru Palace was the stage for the declaration by Tokugawa Yoshinobu, returning the authority to the Imperial Court. Next year the Imperial Cabinet was installed in the castle. The palace became imperial property and was declared a detached palace. During this time, the Tokugawa hollyhock crest was removed wherever possible and replaced with the imperial chrysanthemum. In 1939, the palace was donated to the city of Kyoto and opened to the public the following year. In the 21st century, typhoons have periodically caused sections of plaster to peel off the walls after exposure to rain and wind.

Thank you Budou for this nice card.

The Cooper

This is another profession highlighted in the “For the Youth 1987” series of stamps released by Germany on 9.4.1987. This profession is as old as the desire of the people to enjoy the juice of the fruits harvested by him, be stored in suitable containers.  

A Cooper is a person who makes or repairs casks, barrels, etc. Traditionally, a Cooper is someone who makes wooden staved vessels, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads as shown on this card. Examples of a cooper's work include but are not limited to casks, barrels, buckets, tubs, butter churns, hogsheads, firkins, tierces, rundlets, puncheons, pipes, tuns, butts, pins and breakers.

The word is derived from Middle Dutch kūpe "basket, wood, tub" and may ultimately stem from cupa, the Latin word for vat. Everything a cooper produces is referred to collectively as cooperage. A cask is any piece of cooperage containing a bouge, bilge, or bulge in the middle of the container. A barrel is technically a measure of the size of a cask, so the term "barrel-maker" cannot be used synonymously with "cooper." The facility in which casks are made is also referred to as a cooperage.

Thank you Maria for this interesting card.

The Furrier

A Furrier is a person who sells or makes fur clothing. This profession is amongst the oldest of humanity. From time immemorial, man has used the skins of animals for protection against the cold. Today this craft is used to manufacture costly and exotic clothing for men and women.

This maxicard is one amongst many issued on 9.4.1987 highlighting traditional professions in Germany. 

Thank you Maria for this interesting card with a very nice stamp.

Murmansk

Murmansk is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland. Population: 307,257 (2010 Census), 336,137 (2002 Census), 468,039 (1989 Census). Despite its rapidly declining population, Murmansk remains the largest city north of the Arctic Circle.

Murmansk is set to be the Russian terminus of the Arctic Bridge (or Arctic Sea Bridge), a sea route linking it to the Canadian port of Churchill, Manitoba. The passage has not been fully tested for commercial shipping yet, but Russia has shown interest in it. It is believed that, once developed (along with the Northwest Passage), the bridge will serve as major trade route between Europe and Asia.

At least two cruiser of the Soviet Navy  have borne the name Murmansk, after the city and naval base of Murmansk:

• Soviet Cruiser Murmansk (1944) was the former USS Milwaukee, an Omaha – class cruiser transferred to the USSR in 1944 and decommissioned in 1949.
• Soviet Cruiser Murmansk (1955) was a Sverdlov – class cruiser launched in 1955. She was decommissioned in 1989 and sold for scrapping in 1994, but was wrecked while being towed to the breakers.

Thank you Ksenia for this nice card.

Duluth Street, Montreal

Richard sent me this picture post card of the Duluth Street in the French-speaking area of Montreal, but English speakers will do OK in the many restaurants. Bring your own bottle, and enjoy the people-watching! The Duluth Avenue is an east-west line from Montreal. It connects the Mount Royal Park in Lafontaine Park and crosses the district Le Plateau-Mont-Royal.

There are many restaurants and small shops. Avenue Duluth appears from 1859 under the name of Saint-Jean-Baptiste in the village of the same name. On December 1, 1890, the street was renamed " Duluth ", in honor of Daniel Greysolon, Sieur the Lhut (1639-1710), French “woodsman and explorer”.
The commercial and manufacturing functions primarily characterized this way since the beginning of the twentieth century. They included a candy factory and clothing, shoe stores, a gas station, grocery store and a bakery. Towards the middle of the twentieth century, the shops are among others being replaced by shops of home repair and printing and a veterinary hospital. Partly under the influence of the Greek community of Montreal, the face of the avenue changed in the early 1980s and became highly commercialised. 

Yes you guessed right. The card is from Canada, but posted in the United States. Hence, the really really nice US stamps you see alongside, which had been pasted on the envelope.