George Hendrik Breitner

Irene sent this card which features a painting by George Hendrik Breitner (September 12, 1857 – June 5, 1923) who was a Dutch painter and photographer from Amsterdam.   

Sochi

Lyudmila sent me this card which shows the port of Sochi in Russia. Also displayed is the Swan Hellenic luxury cruise ship Minerva II.

Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the Black Sea coast near the border between Georgia/Abkhazia and Russia. Greater Sochi sprawls for 145 kilometers (90 mi) along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains. According to the 2010 Census, the city had a permanent population of 343,334; up from 328,809 recorded in the 2002 Census, making it Russia's largest resort city.

Sochi will host the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games in 2014, as well as the Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix from 2014 until at least 2020 subject to the circuit being ready in time. It is also one of the host cities for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Thank you Lyuda for this pretty card.

The Herrenhausen Gardens

The Herrenhausen Gardens in Germany is located in Herrenhausen, an urban district of Lower Saxony's capital of Hanover are made up of the Great Garden, the Berggarten, the Georgengarten and the Welfengarten. The gardens are a heritage of the Kings of Hanover.

The Great Garden has always been one of the most distinguished baroque formal gardens of Europe while the Berggarten has been transformed over the years from a simple vegetable garden into a large botanical garden with its own attractions. Both the Georgengarten and the Welfengarten have been made in the style of English gardens, and both are considered popular recreation areas for the residents of Hanover. The history of the gardens spans several centuries, and they remain a popular attraction to this day.

This nice card was sent to me by Vivian.

Lanhydrock in Cornwall

Lanhydrock (meaning "church enclosure of St Hydrock") is a civil parish centred on a country estate and mansion in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish lies south of the town of Bodmin and is bounded to the north by Bodmin parish, to the south by Lanlivery parish and to the west by Lanivet parish. The population was 171 in the 2001 census. The Parish Council meets every two months in Lanhydrock Memorial Hall.

Lanhydrock ecclesiastical parish is in the Deanery and Hundred of Pydar and in the Bodmin Registration District. The parish is in the Diocese of Truro and is now part of the Bodmin Team Ministry. The parish church is dedicated to St Hydrock and stands in the grounds of Lanhydrock House. Parts date back to the late 15th century and the church has a chancel, nave, north and south aisles and three-stage battlemented tower with one bell.

This pretty card sent to me by Ineke shows the church of St. Hydroc and the garden displaying attractive flower beds.

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), the latter often called "the Great American Novel."

Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which provided the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. After an apprenticeship with a printer, he worked as a typesetter and contributed articles to his older brother Orion's newspaper. He later became a riverboat pilot on the Mississipp River before heading west to join Orion in Nevada. He referred humorously to his singular lack of success at mining, turning to journalism for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. In 1865, his humorous story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" was published, based on a story he heard at Angels Hotel in Angels Camp California where he had spent some time as a miner. The short story brought international attention, even being translated to classic Greek. His wit and satire, in prose and in speech, earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty.

Though Twain earned a great deal of money from his writings and lectures, he invested in ventures that lost a great deal of money, notably the Paige Compositor, which failed because of its complexity and imprecision. In the wake of these financial setbacks he filed for protection from his creditors via a bankruptcy filing, and with the help of Henry Huttleston Rogers eventually overcame his financial troubles. Twain chose to pay all his pre-bankruptcy creditors in full, though he had no responsibility to do this under the law.

Twain was born shortly after a visit by Halley's Comet, and he predicted that he would "go out with it," too. He died the day following the comet's subsequent return. He was lauded as the "greatest American humorist of his age“, and William Faulkner called Twain "the father of American literature."

Thank you Ron for this card, that features an author and a man I have admired since I first read “Tom Sawyer”. In those days, many a time did I day dream of being young Tom J

James Bond in "Thunderball"

This picture postcard features the James Bond "Thunderball" one sheet movie poster by An Original Vintage Theatrical Folded One-Sheet Movie Poster by Robert McGinnis and Frank McCarthy. 

Ian Fleming's Thunderball, the 1965 Terence Young English James Bond 007 secret agent spy espionage fantasy action adventure thriller "L007k OUT!"; "L007k up! L007k down! L007k out!"; "Here comes the biggest Bond of all!"; "Based on the original story by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham and Ian Fleming") starring Sean Connery(asJames Bond 007), Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi, Rik Van Nutter, Martine Beswick, Guy Doleman, Molly Peters, Bernard Lee (as "M"), Lois Maxwell (as Miss Moneypenny), and Desmond Llewellyn (as "Q").

Thank you Jeff from Saginaw in Michigan for this nice card of my favourite Hollywood actor.

Turnau in Austria

Turnau is a market town at the foot of the Hochschwab in the Styrian District of Bruck an der Mur . Turnau has 5 boroughs: Turnau, Göriach, Seewiesen, Stübming, and Thal. Population of Turnau is 1615.

Turnau in Austria is a very small ski resort with just three ski lifts but it does boast a respectable 370 metres (1213 feet) of vertical descent. Turnau has 4 kilometers (2 miles) of pistes. Turnau is best suited to intermediate skiers and snowboarders but there is some terrain for beginners and advanced skiers.

The card shows a typical summer’s day in Turnau with the mountain cows grazing peacefully, with Hochanger and Aflenzer Staritzen in the background. An idyllic scene indeed. Thank you Thomas for this lovely card.