Finland - Ju 88

The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early operational roles, but became one of the most versatile combat aircraft of the war. Affectionately known as "The Maid of all Work" (a feminine version of "jack of all trades"), the Ju 88 proved to be suited to almost any role. Like a number of other Luftwaffe bombers, it was used successfully as a bomber, dive bomber, night fighter, torpedo bomber, reconnaissance aircraft, heavy fighter, and even as a flying bomb during the closing stages of conflict.

Despite its protracted development, the aircraft became one of the Luftwaffe's most important assets. The assembly line ran constantly from 1936 to 1945, and more than 16,000 Ju 88s were built in dozens of variants, more than any other twin-engine German aircraft of the period. Throughout the production, the basic structure of the aircraft remained unchanged, proof of the outstanding quality of the original design.

The picture is of a model of a Junkers Ju-88 A-4 (JK-254) that crashed during a bombing mission on 1st of July 1944 in Lake Pyhaselka in Rauvanlanti Liperi. Parts of this Bomber were found in 2008. The engine is on display at the Central Finland Aviation Museum. Merja sent me this card.

Åland – Volunteer Fire Brigade

The Åland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. They are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous, demilitarised, monolingually Swedish-speaking region of Finland. The islands collectively constitute the smallest region of Finland, with only 0.49% of its land area, and 0.50% of its population. Because of the autonomous status of the Åland Islands, the powers exercised at the provincial level by representatives of the central state administration in the rest of Finland are largely exercised by the Government of Åland in Åland.
The Volunteer Fire Brigade of Mariehamn (Åland) was founded in 1887. The province has 20 fire brigades, which comprise about 300 active firemen, 120 women and 150 juniors. These fire brigades possess 50 fire trucks, 40 pumps and about 20 km hose-pipes. This postcard celebrates the 100^th Anniversary of this organisation, which was on 27.4.1987.

Italy – Trevi Fountain

The Fontana di Trevi or Trevi Fountain is the most famous and arguably the most beautiful fountain in all of Rome. This impressive monument dominates the small Trevi square located in the Quirinale district. The Trevi fountain is at the ending part of the Aqua Virgo, an aqueduct constructed in 19 BC. It brings water all the way from the Salone Springs (approx 20km from Rome) and supplies the fountains in the historic center of Rome with water. In 1732, Pope Clement XII commissioned Nicola Salvi to create a large fountain at the Trevi Square. A previous undertaking to build the fountain after a design by Bernini was halted a century earlier after the death of Pope Urban VIII. The restive sea horse which is the masterpiece on this design. Construction of the monumental baroque fountain was finally completed in 1762. The Fountain. The central figure of the fountain, in front of a large niche, is Neptune, god of the sea. He is riding a chariot in the shape of a shell, pulled by two sea horses. Each sea horse is guided by a Triton. One of the horses is calm and obedient, the other one restive. They symbolize the fluctuating moods of the sea. On the left hand side of Neptune is a statue representing Abundance. The crowded square on the right represents Salubrity. Above the sculptures are bas-reliefs, one of them shows Agrippa, the general who built the aqueduct that carries water to the fountain.
And who can forget the song made immortal by Frank Sinatra, "Three coins in the Fountain, which one will the Fountain Bless ......................" Thank you Maria for this lovely card.

Netherlands – Terschelling Lighthouse

Terschelling is a municipality and an island in the northern Netherlands, one of the West Frisian Islands. Waddenislanders are known for their resourcefulness in using anything and everything that washes ashore. With few trees to use for timber, most of the farms and barns are built with masts recovered from shipwrecks. The islands are surrounded by shipwrecks, and even today many containers wash ashore that are blown off the decks of cargo ships in the North Sea. The main source of income on Terschelling is tourism. There is some agriculture, but a large part of the island has become a nature reserve.

The Dutch Wadden (or Frisian) islands are very popular as a holiday resort for over a century already, for the Dutch as well as for the people living in the neighboring countries. Of the five (inhabited) Wadden islands Terschelling is the second largest, after Texel. Why particularly this island is so popular with the tourists is because, Terschelling is endowed with the longest beach of all Wadden islands. On the north side of the island not less than 30 kilometers of splendid white sandy beach, in some places over one kilometer wide, are waiting to welcome the tourists. And on the south side there's the Wadden Sea, one of the most important nature reserves of northwest Europe. As a result of the island's elongated shape there's no place on Terschelling further from the sea than half an hour's walk. Terschelling has a favorable climate compared with the rest of the Netherlands. Its winters are milder and its summers cooler. Throughout the year it has twice as many hours of sunshine as the mainland, and significantly less rain. The island is an paradise for lovers of nature and peace. Yet there is also enough diversion and fun on Terschelling to make it a popular vacation place for young people. People interested in arts and cultural activities will have a great time at the yearly unique Oerol festival, about which more later on.

This card was sent to me by Anke, for whom Tershelling means a lot. She met her husband here, and they finally married in this very lighthouse. Very romantic indeed. Thank you Anke for this lovely card.

Belarus – Kobrin

Kobryn or Kobrin is a city in the Brest voblast of Belarus and the center of the Kobryn Raion. The city is located in the southwestern corner of Belarus where the Mukhavets River and Dnepr-Bug Canal meet. The city lies about 52 km east of the city of Brest.. It is at an altitude of 485 feet. It is a station on the Brest – Homiel railway line. As of 1995, the population was around 51,500. River transport is very common in Belarus. The picture on the card shows the river station at Kobrin City. This pretty card was sent to me by Alesia.

In prehistoric times it was inhabited by ancient Baltic Yotvingian tribe. After the Partition of Poland in 1795, the town was annexed by Imperial Russia. Occupied by Germany during the World War I, following the Polish-Bolshevik War it was handed to Poland under the terms of the Treaty of Riga and became a seat of a powiat within the Polesie Voivodship. During the Polish Defensive War of 1939 the town was the scene of heavy fighting between the Polish 60th Infantry Division of Colonel Adam Epler and the German XIX Panzer Corps of General Heinz Guderian. After three days of fighting the Poles withdrew southwards. Between 1939 and 1941 occupied by the Soviet Union, then until 1944 by Nazi Germany. During the latter period the majority of Jewish inhabitants were first amassed in a ghetto and then murdered by the Germans in their extermination camps. In 1945 the town was occupied once more by the USSR and attached to the Byelorussian SSR. Since 1991 it is a part of Belarus.

Cyprus - FIFA World Cup 1998

The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final. France won their first title, becoming the seventh nation to win a World Cup, and the sixth (after Uruguay, Italy, England, West Germany and Argentina) to win the tournament on home soil. This was the first in which 32 teams competed at the finals. The official match ball was the Adidas Tricolore. Merja sent me this maxi card.

Åland – Lighthouses of the Åland Islands

Åland, also called the Åland Islands, is an archipelago lying off the southwestern corner of Finland and stretching across the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia from the Baltic Sea. There is one large island, Fasta Åland, about 80 smaller inhabited islands, and more than 6000 islets and skerries. The great majority of the residents (more than 90%) are Swedish by language and heritage. In fact, the islands were part of Sweden until 1809, when Sweden was forced to cede them to the Russian Empire along with Finland. When Finland became independent from Russia in 1917, the Ålanders petitioned to secede from Finland. Finland declined, and ultimately the Åland question was referred to the League of Nations. In 1921 the League decided that Åland should remain under Finnish sovereignty, but that the islands should be autonomous, self-governing, and demilitarized. Åland has its own parliament and national flag, issues its own postage stamps, and has a distinct ISO country code (ALA) and Internet top-level domain (.ax). However, from the Finnish perspective Åland is an autonomous province of Finland governed under international treaties by a special Act of Autonomy. The Finnish name for Åland is Ahvenanmaa. Lighthouses in Åland, as in the rest of Finland, are maintained by the Finnish Maritime Administration (Merenkulkulaitos). The Finnish word for a lighthouse is majakka (plural majakat); the Swedish word is fyr (plural fyren). Since Swedish is the language of the islands, the names of the lighthouses are generally in that language.

Four Maxicards from Aland Islands in Finland, Issued 6th June 2008 are featured here depicting the lighthouses of Marhallan, Gustaf Dalen, Kokarsoren and Bogskar. These cards are courtesy my Dear friend Merja.