Winter's scene in China

Guliang sent me this pretty winter's scene, somewhere in the mountains of China.

Helmond in Holland

Helmond is a municipality and a city in the province of North Brabant in the southern Netherlands. It is quite near Eindhoven a big city. Eindhoven is known for many things, amongst them PSV Eindhoven the football club. If luck favours them Eindhoven may host the 2018 FIFA World Cup there. Helmond has many textile companies. The Vlisco factory is located next to the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal which runs through the city. Helmond is home of the professional football team of Helmond Sport. The centre of Helmond has a castle which was built by Jan III van Berlaer around 1350.

This pretty card which sends greetings from Helmond was sent to me by Josien.

Kutná Hora

Kutná Hora is a city situated in the Central Bohemian Region of Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic.

Kutná Hora and the neighboring town of Sedlec are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Among the most important buildings in the area are the Gothic, five-naved St. Barbara's Church, begun in 1388, and the Italian Court, formerly a royal residence and mint, which was built at the end of the 13th century. The Gothic Stone Haus, which since 1902 has served as a museum, contains one of the richest archives in the country. The Gothic St. James's Church, with its 86 metre tower, is another prominent building. Sedlec is the site of the Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady and the famous Ossuary.

The main buildings of Kutna Hora are shown on the card which Alex sent me. This card is shaped like the actual map of the Czech Republic.

Dancing Thistles

Joan sent me this card which depicts a painting by Sophie Appleton titled "Dancing Thistles". It is an original watercolour done in 2011.

The Norwegian Petroleum Museum

The Norwegian Petroleum Museum was opened on 20 May 1999. In Norwegian language the museum is called Norsk Oljemuseum. The unusual architecture has made the museum a landmark in the Port of Stavanger. Seen from the sea the museum looks like a small oil platform. The museum focuses on offshore petroleum activity especially in the North Sea.

The Norwegian Petroleum Museum is a museum for everyone. Its exhibits explain how oil and gas are created, discovered and produced, and what they are used for. The museum also provides information about technological advances and the way petroleum influences Norwegian society. Original objects, models, films and interactive exhibits illustrate everything from everyday life offshore to technology and dramatic incidents.

Pia sent me this card from Stavanger.

Stralsund

Stralsund is a city in Western Pomerania, Germany, situated at the Southern coast of the Strelasund (a sound of the Baltic Sea separating the island of Rügen from the mainland). Two bridges (the Rügendamm and since October 2007 the new Rügen Bridge) and several ferry services connect Stralsund with the ports of Rügen. A former district-free town, it is the capital of the new district of Vorpommern-Rügen since the September 2011 district reforms.

Since 2002, Stralsund's old town is honoured as a UNESCO World Heritage, along with Wismar. Together with Greifswald, Stralsund forms one of 4 high level urban centers of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The main industries of Stralsund are shipyards, fishing, and, to an increasing degree, tourism, services and IT (Information Technology).

Main landmark of Stralsund: Its unique Brick Gothic city hall from Hanseatic times. This building from 1278 features a remarkable 'show façade' that serves the sole purpose of displaying wealth of the city. Citizens can walk through the city hall and its gallery like they could walk any other street. The city hall also offers one of Europe's biggest Gothic cellar vaults.

The City Hall is one of Stralsund´s oldest and most beautiful buildings in the North German Brick Gothic style. Its origins date back to the thirteenth century. The magnificent decorated facade at the northern end of the building has become one of the city´s emblems. Together with St. Nicholas´ Church, the City Hall facade forms one of the city’s most splendid sights. The complex, originally composed of two long parallel wings, was originally used as a place for merchants to trade, with small shops and stalls on both sides of the inner courtyard as well as in the "Butter Passage" that led through the City Hall from Ossenreyerstrasse to the former main entrance of St. Nicholas´ Church. The coats of arms of Lueneburg and Bremen on the eastern side and Hamburg, Luebeck, Wismar, Rostock, Stralsund and Gerifswald on the northern are reminders of the once powerful Hanseatic League. The City Hall was comprehensively restored between 2001 and 2011, and it is from here that the city is still ruled today.

SS Suomi

The SS Suomi is a steamship that has been plying the waters of Lake Päijänne since 1906. Lake Päijänne is near Jyväskylä-located in the heart of Central Finland.

A little bit about Jyväskylä. It is a city and municipality in Central Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is the largest city in Central Finland and on the Finnish Lakeland. Jyväskylä is located on the northern coast of Lake Päijänne, 147 kilometres (91 mi) north-east of Tampere and 270 kilometres (170 mi) north of Helsinki. The hilly and forested terrain in Jyväskylä is surrounded by hundreds of lakes. Summers in Jyväskylä are warm and winters cold and snowy. As of 28 February 2013, Jyväskylä had a population of 133,687. The city has been one of the most rapidly growing cities in Finland since World War II. In 1940 there were only 8000 inhabitants in Jyväskylä. The Jyväskylä sub-region includes Jyväskylä, Hankasalmi, Laukaa, Muurame, Petäjävesi, Toivakka and Uurainen.

Elias Lönnrot, the compiler of the Finnish national epic Kalevala, gave the city a nickname "Athens of Finland". This nickname is used to describe the major role of Jyväskylä as an education centre and the first place in the world to provide education in Finnish. The works of the most famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto can be seen throughout the city. The city hosts Neste Oil Rally Finland, which is part of the World Rally Championship. It is also home of the annual Jyväskylä Arts Festival.

Thank you dear Merja for this nice card.