Finnish Summer

Thank you Ari for this lovely card of the Finnish Summer that you guys are enjoying. The strawberries make my mouth water. I believe it is 15 to 18 degrees in your part of the world.

Its not too bad here in New Delhi where I live. The day before yesterday was the highest so far this Summer - only 44.5. Not bad eh! :-))

Moscow - View of the Arc de Triomphe and the Poklonnaya Hill

The third and the oldest surviving Triumphal Arch in Moscow was built in 1829–34 on Tverskaya Gate Square to Joseph Bové's designs in order to commemorate Russia's victory over Napoleon. It replaced an earlier wooden structure built by the veterans of the Napoleonic Wars in 1814.

The arch was built in brick and lined with ashlar. The columns and statues were of cast iron. A seiuga (six-horse chariot) was designed by Giovanni Vitali. The bilingual inscription in Russian and Latin ran as follows:

To the blessed memory of Alexander I who raised from ashes and adorned with many memorials of paternal care this former capital that had been committed to the mercy of fire during the invasion of the Gauls and twelve other nations.

The arch was dismantled in 1936 as part of Joseph Stalin's reconstruction of downtown Moscow. Vitali's sculptures were then put on exhibit at an architectural museum on the grounds of the former Donskoy Monastery. After the Second World War there were plans to rebuild the structure in front of the Belarussian Railway Station.

The current arch was built to Bove's original designs in 1966–68 in the middle of Kutuzovsky Avenue, close to the Victory Park. An open space surrounding the arch is known as the Victory Square.

Thank you Natasha for this nice card.

Lín Qīngxiá

Brigitte Lin (Lín Qīngxiá) or Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia (born 3 November 1954) is a Taiwanese actress. She was a popular actress, regarded as an icon of Chinese cinema, who acted in both Taiwanese and Hong Kong movies. She retired in 1994, although she had a minor role in the 1998 film Bishonen.

She was born in Taipei, and was "discovered" in 1972 by a film producer, and first appeared in many Taiwanese romance films based on the novels of Chiung Yao. Her movie debut is in Chuangwai. She later switched over to making movies in Hong Kong. At the height of her popularity she was arguably one of the most sought-after actresses in the Chinese film industry. She starred in more than 100 movies.

In Hong Kong movies, Lin made a career of playing transgender roles: in Peking Opera Blues she plays a tomboy who dresses in male Western clothes; in New Dragon Gate Inn she is a woman who dresses as a man, and in Swordsman II and III she plays a male character who castrates himself for power and so is now slowly turning into a woman. She had a good working relationship with Tsui Hark, acting in many of the films he directed (like Peking Opera Blues) and produced (Swordsman II).

She married businessman Michael Ying in 1994 and left the film industry. She has two daughters, born in 1997 and 2001. She made her first public appearance since her marriage at a screening of Ashes of Time Redux at the 2008 New York Film Festival.

My friend Aiting send me this lovely card.

Hamburg

This nice card sent to me by Marivi shows Hamburg Harbour, with the  "Sea Cloud II" on the Elbe. One can also see the St. Pauli and Michaelis Churches.

Wind Surfing

This nice card was sent to me by my friend Karoly in Serbia.

City of Goes in the Netherlands

Bart & Marion sent me this nice card featuring Goes, a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on Zuid-Beveland, in the province of Zeeland. The city of Goes has approximately 27,000 residents.

Appella Beach on Karpathos Island

This nice card was sent to me by Jens from Germany. The card has a photo of the Appella Beach on Karpathos Island.

Karpathos is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the southeastern  Aegean Sea. Together with the neighboring smaller Saria Island it forms the municipality of Karpathos, which is part of the Karpathos regional unit. Because of its remote location, Karpathos has preserved many peculiarities of dress, customs and dialect, the last resembling those of Crete and Cyprus. The island has also been called Carpathus in Latin, Scarpanto in Italian and Kerpe in Turkish.

The beaches of Karpathos island can be divided into four large groups: the beaches on the east coast are smaller and gravelly but without wind; the beaches of the southern part of the island, near the airport, area made of fine white sand; the sandy beach on the west coast are the most exposed to the Meltemi and they are only available in low wind conditions; the beaches of the north of the island, accessible only by sea and partly by a jeep.

East Coast: Amoopi, Karpathos Beach, Achata, Kato Latos (reachable only by foot), Kyra Panagia, Apella, Agios Nikolaos (Spoa).

South Coast - Damatria, Diakoftis, Devils Bay, Agriopotamos (nude beach).

West Coast - Lefkos beach, Mesohori Finiki, Arkasa Leucadius.

North Coast - Diafani, Vananda, Forokli