Icons of Christchurch

This pretty card of one of New Zealand’s most beautiful cities was sent to me by Michelle. It shows as the card says the icons of Chritchurch by night. Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's third-most populous urban area. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of Christchurch. The usual Māori name for Christchurch is Ōtautahi ("the place of Tautahi").   

The three pictures on the card are those of icons of Christchurch by night. They are:

The Christchurch Art Gallery, with the formal name of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, is the public art gallery of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is funded by Christchurch City Council. It has its own substantial art collection and presents a programme of New Zealand and international exhibitions. The gallery opened on 10 May 2003, replacing the city's former public art gallery, the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, which opened on 16 June 1932 and closed on 16 June 2002.

ChristChurch Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The cathedral was built in the second half of the 19th century, and is located in the centre of the city, surrounded by Cathedral Square. It is the cathedral seat of the Bishop of Christchurch in the New Zealand tikanga of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.

The February 2011 Christchurch earthquake destroyed the spire and part of the tower – and severely damaged the structure of the remaining building. The cathedral had been damaged previously by earthquakes in 1881, 1888, 1901, 1922 and 2010. In late March 2012 work began demolishing the building.  A temporary replacement cathedral is being built. On 15 December 2012 demolition was halted on the cathedral, following the issuing of a judgment by the High Court of New Zealand, which granted an application for judicial review of the decision to demolish made by the church.

The Millenium Chalice. Celebrating the new millennium, Chalice is a permanent sculpture located in Christchurch's Cathedral Square. Chalice celebrates the new millennium and the 150th Anniversary of the founding of Christchurch and Canterbury by the Canterbury Association. The official lighting ceremony was held 10 September 2001 and Chalice will be lit at night with one floodlight situated inside the base of the cone and one spotlight aimed at the exterior of the structure from the pavement. Sculptor Neil Dawson was commissioned to produce a major contemporary, public artwork for Christchurch by The Turning Point 2000 Trust.

Kiel Week

My friend Christina sent me this card from Kiel in Germany. It depicts the Windjammer parade during the Kiel Week. Kiel Week is an annual sailing event in Kiel, Germany. It is the largest sailing event in the world, and also one of the largest Volksfeste in Germany.

Kiel Week is held annually in the last complete week in June, and opens officially on the preceding Saturday with the official Glasen, followed by the Holstenbummel. The "Soundcheck" is on the Friday before the official opening; it is a music festival across all the stages within the city. Kiel Week ends with a large fireworks display at 11 p.m. on Sunday, fired from pontoons or the quays at the Howaldtswerke, visible all across the Bay of Kiel.

Most ship races begin at the Olympic harbour of Schilksee, also the centre of most sporting activities during Kiel Week. As Schilksee is located outside of the inner city and most sailing competitions take place yet further out, only some races - mainly of smaller boat types - can be viewed from shore, namely from along the Kiellinie at the west coast of the Bay of Kiel.

Kiel Week usually gathers around 5,000 sailors, 2,000 ships, and about three million visitors each year. The event is organized in joint effort by the Yacht Club of Kiel, the Norddeutscher Regattaverein, the Hamburger Sailing Club, and the Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee.

Kiel Week is also one of the largest tall ship conventions in Germany, attracting many German and international traditional ships, mainly sailing ships. Many of them spend the week doing day tours out of Kiel, thus berthing much more in view of the festival visitors than the racing boats at Kiel-Schilksee. More than 100 traditional ships and hundreds of yachts usually participate in the Tall Ships Parade (Windjammer parade) on the day before the closing day of the Kiel Week, i.e. usually on the second Saturday of Kiel Week. The Parade was first held in 1972, under the name of Operation Sail, and was organized in celebration of the Olympic Summer Games in Germany that year, whose sailing competitions took place in Kiel. It was the first large gathering of tall ships since the time of the windjammers, and its success led to the annual Parade and to the foundation of the first sail training organization in Germany (Clipper DJS). Today, the Parade is often headed by the Gorch Fock, a sister ship to the German-built USCGC Eagle (WIX-327).

First World Master Rowing

The first World Master Rowing competition for Sulkava long boats was held in Finland in July 2010. The World Master Rowing competition consists of two starts: a short race of 2,000 metres and a 60 kilometre race around Partala Island, the largest island in Lake Saimaa.

Open to national and club teams from all over the world and using the distinctive Finnish “churchboats,” the competition was be held on Lake Saimaa, the largest of Finland’s 200,000 lakes and the fourth largest lake in Europe. The competition featured two events: a short race of 2,000 meters in front of the Sulkava Rowing Stadium and a long race of 60 kilometers around Partala Island, the largest island in Lake Saimaa. The competition was held jointly with Finland´s largest rowing event, the Sulkava Rowing Race, which has 8,000 participants annually.The World Masters Rowing Competition was run with traditional Finnish 12-meter wooden churchboats which have sliding benches and 14 oars. “Churchboats” are long rowing boats, sometimes called Sulkava boats or Viking boats, which the Finnish people once used to travel to holy mass on Sundays and were based on models from Viking days.

The Masters in Rowing is open to national and club teams from all around the world. Each crew consists of 14 rowers and a coxswain, with single-sex or mixed-sex crews. The first three crews are awarded medals, diplomas, and cash prizes. The church has maintained the boats since the Reformation in the seventh century.

Thank you Sisko for this nice card. The event must have been great fun.

James Dean

James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931 – September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause (1955), in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark. The other two roles that defined his stardom were as loner Cal Trask in East of Eden (1955), and as the surly ranch hand, Jett Rink, in Giant (1956). Dean's enduring fame and popularity rests on his performances in only these three films, all leading roles. His premature death in a car crash cemented his legendary status.

Dean was the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and remains the only actor to have had two posthumous acting nominations. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Dean the 18th best male movie star on their AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars list.

Saila from Finland sent me this card.

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.