France – Chateaubriant

Châteaubriant is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department and the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It is part of the historic duchy of Brittany and the country of Mée.

The inhabitants of Châteaubriant are called Castelbriantais and Castelbriantaises.

For his talent as much as his excesses, Chateaubriand may be considered the father of French Romanticism. His descriptions of Nature and his analysis of emotion made him the model for a generation of Romantic writers, not only in France but also abroad. For example, Lord Byron was deeply impressed by René. The young Victor Hugo scribbled in a notebook, "To be Chateaubriand or nothing." Even his enemies found it hard to avoid his influence. Stendhal, who despised him for political reasons, made use of his psychological analyses in his own book, De l'amour.

Chateaubriand was the first to define the vague des passions ("intimations of passion"), which would become a commonplace of Romanticism: "One inhabits, with a full heart, an empty world" (Génie du Christianisme). His political thought and actions seem to offer numerous contradictions: he wanted to be the friend both of legitimist royalty and of freedom, alternately defending which of the two seemed most in danger: "I am a Bourbonist out of honour, a monarchist out of reason, and a republican out of taste and temperament". He was the first of a series of French men of letters (Lamartine, Victor Hugo, André Malraux) who tried to mix political and literary careers.

"We are convinced that the great writers have told their own story in their works", wrote Chateaubriand in Génie du christianisme,"one only truly describes one's own heart by attributing it to another, and the greater part of genius is composed of memories". This is certainly true of Chateaubriand himself. All his works have strong autobiographical elements, overt or disguised. Perhaps this is the reason why today Mémoires d'outre-tombe is regarded as his finest achievement.

A food enthusiast, he coined the name of a dish made from a cut of tenderloin (the Chateaubriand steak).

The Castle is considered the residence of a ghost/(s). A Very romantic place, which is very popular with tourists. It is just an hour’s drive from Nantes. This lovely card was sent to me by Aline.

Finland – Lapland

Another lovely card about Lapland sent to me by Sirpa.

Finland

A typical winter's scene in a Finnish coutryside. Card was sent to me by Sirpa.

Slovak Republic

Bratislava is the capital of the Slovak Republic and, with a population of about 429,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries, and it and Vienna are the two European national capitals closest to one another, at less than 60 kilometres (37 mi) apart.

Bratislava is the political, cultural, and economic centre of Slovakia. It is the seat of the Slovak president, the parliament, and the executive branch of the government. It is home to several universities, museums, theatres, galleries and other important cultural and educational institutions. Many of Slovakia's large businesses and financial institutions are also headquartered there.

The history of the city, long known by the German name Pressburg, has been strongly influenced by people of different nations, namely by Austrians, Czechs, Germans, Hungarians, Jews, and Slovaks. The city was the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary under the Habsburg Monarchy from 1536 to 1783 and has been home to many Slovak, Hungarian, and German historical figures.

The picture on the card shows the Main Square in Bratislava. The card was sent to me by Ivan.

Merry Christmas

Danielle from the USA sent this nice card For all those still in the Christmasy mood -- Merry Christmas ;-))

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe, Antilles Francaises, or the French West Indies as it is popularly known, is an archipelago located in the eastern Caribbean Sea , with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres (629 sq. mi). It is an overseas department of France. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe is also one of the twenty-six regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic since 2007.

As part of France, Guadeloupe is part of the European Union; hence, as for most EU countries, its currency is the euro. However, Guadeloupe does not fall under the Schengen Agreement. The prefecture of Guadeloupe is Basse-Terre. Christopher Colombus named the island Santa María de Guadalupe in 1493 after the Virgin Mary, venerated in the Spanish town of Guadalupe, in Extremadura. This nice Multi-view card was sent to me by Michelle from Guadeloupe.

Finland - Suomenlinna Sea Fortress (Suomenlinna Sveaborg)

Suomenlinna Sea Fortress was built over 250 years ago and once had a population of 4600, larger than the population of Helsinki at the time. Construction began off the coast of Helsinki in 1748, when Finland was part of the Swedish Empire and the Swedes built a fortress on the islands as a counter to the increasing Russian naval strength in Kronstadt. In 1808, the fortress surrendered to the Russians, with Finland becoming part of the Russian empire. The fortress was originally called Sveaborg (literally, Sweden’s Fortress), but was renamed Suomelinna (Finland’s Fortress) in 1918, one year after Finland finally gained independence from Russia. Today, the fortress is an integral part of the city and home to around 900 inhabitants. There are a variety of attractions on the islands. This nice card was sent to me by Sirpa.