Holland or The Netherlands?

Before we start talking about this country we should know what we are talking about! It is absolutely necessary to be aware of the fact that Holland and the Netherlands are not two names for the same country, but rather that Holland is the former name for part of it. Holland these days constitutes two out of a total of twelve provinces that make this country. Much of the northern part was originally Frisian and came under the rule of the counts of Holland (who called their territory 'Holland and West-Frisia' after that) in the middle ages, while to the south Holland once had some territory in the present province of Noord-Brabant. More recently the province of Zuid-Holland exchanged some territory with the province of Utrecht. In this area are such cities as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Haarlem, as well as the national airport, Schiphol. As a tourist you're likely to visit it, but be aware that Holland is just two parts of this country, and there are many more different faces to The Netherlands as a whole.
But don't 'Hol' and 'Nether' mean the same? No, although it's often claimed that they do. 'Nether' means 'low', and although 'Hol' nowadays translates to 'hollow', the terms do have different meanings. 'Hol' originally referred to 'holt', an old word for 'wood'. The region around Dordrecht, Holland's oldest town, was known as Holtland, after its many forests.
But, this issue has never bothered me, because when you talk to people in any part of the Netherlands or even when they are overseas, they only talk about Holland to refer to the country as a whole (and even some Dutch people use it e.g. on football scarf’s, flags etc). And even though stamps of that country has “Nederland” printed on them, for the Dutch it is Holland, and I am quite willing to go along with them and with “Joke” who sent me this card that proclaims it is all about Holland. I think most Dutch refer to the Netherlands as 'Holland' simply because it's easier for them to pronounce it. I’ll leave the obvious question of why people from the Netherlands, or Holland if you please, are called “Dutch” for another day, when another Hollander sends me another card ;-))

Munich

Munich or München as the Germans prefer to call it. And actually the name sounds better that way, is the capital and the largest city of the German state of Bavaria. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, behind Berlin and Hamburg. About 1.42 million people live within the city limits. Munich was the host city of the 1972 Summer Olympics.
The city's motto is "München mag Dich" (Munich likes you). And I thouroughly endorse that. I loved this city after my visit there when I was just 16 years old. Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" (Cosmopolitan city with a heart). Its native name, München, is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat of arms. Black and gold—the colours of the Holy Roman Empire—have been the city's official colours since the time of Ludwig the Bavarian.
Modern Munich is a financial and publishing hub, and a frequently top-ranked destination for migration and expatriate location in livability rankings. Munich achieved 4th place in frequently quoted Mercer livability rankings in 2011. For economic and social innovation, the city was ranked 15th globally out of 289 cities in 2010, and 5th in Germany by the 2thinknow Innovation Cities Index based on analysis of 162 indicators. In 2010, Monocle ranked Munich as the world's most livable city (in 2012, Munich was ranked fifth in Monocle's ranking, yet remained the highest ranked city in Germany). This nice card was sent to me by Irene.

Yves Montand & Marilyn Monroe

This card has a rare photograph of Marilyn Monroe and the French actor Yves Montand during the shooting of the movie “Let's Make Love”, which was the next to last film of Marilyn Monroe and was a harmless piece of fluff, rather lazily directed by George Cukor. Marilyn was her usual temperamental self during the filming and I think Cukor decided to just let it slide. Thank you Pia for sharing this photo-card with me.

Think mega-rich, a 1960s Donald Trump who speaks French and you have the character Yves Montand plays. Publicity agent Tony Randall calls it to Montand's attention that an off Broadway theater review is going to be satirizing him among other celebrities in the review. Montand decides to check things out for himself. And the star of the review is none other than Marilyn Monroe whom Montand starts raising his blood pressure over. Who wouldn't?

Montand is cool and unflappable. I can believe he wants Marilyn, but I can't believe that this is how he would meet her. Unless one is an egomaniac like Donald Trump, I don't think most people would care about what some off Broadway show that few will ever see, says in some satirical sketch. A lot of talented people were involved in the making of this and it seems a colossal waste of time. Marilyn and Montand and British pop star Frankie Vaughan had some nice numbers to sing.

And we can't forget the three unbilled cameos of Milton Berle, Bing Crosby, and Gene Kelly who Montand enlists in his quest to win Marilyn. Their scenes with Montand are the best things about the film. One other thing though. I can believe Berle and Kelly would come if summoned by Montand. But Crosby, you're talking about a guy who was as rich as the character Montand played.

Naantali

Thank you Pia for this lovely card giving a few views of Naantali which is a city in south-western Finland, known as one of the most important tourist centres of the country. The municipality has a population of 18,858 (31 January 2012), and is located in the region of Finland Proper, 14 kilometres west of Turku. The town encompasses a land area of 311.50 square kilometres. Most of this area is located on the islands, but the majority of the population lives on the mainland. In fact, most of the island is beautiful forest and farmland, while the mainland consists chiefly of residential areas.

One of the oldest towns in Finland, Naantali was founded around the mediaeval Brigittine convent Vallis gratiae, the church of which still dominates its skyline. The charter was signed by King Christopher of Sweden, the then ruler of Finland, in 1443. The convent got trading rights and other privileges, and the town around it began to grow. It also became an important destination for pilgrimage.

Statsraad Lehmkuhl

This pretty vessel is The Statsraad Lehmkuhl is a three-masted barque rigged sail-training vessel owned and operated by the Statsraad Lehmkuhl Foundation. It is based in Bergen, Norway and contracted out for various purposes, including serving as a school ship for the Royal Norwegian Navy (using RNoN's prefix "KNM", English: "HNoMS").
She was built in 1914 as a school training ship for the German merchant marine under the name Grossherzog Friedrich August. After the First World War the ship was taken as a prize by the United Kingdom, and in 1921 the ship was bought by former cabinet minister Kristoffer Lehmkuhl (hence the name, which means "Cabinet Minister Lehmkuhl"). With the exception of the Second World War, when she was captured by German troops and called Westwärts, the ship has belonged to Bergens Skoleskib until it was donated to the Foundation in 1978. In 2000, it was chartered by the German Navy while their Gorch Fock was overhauled. This card was sent to me by Merja.

Ship in a Bottle

Well, what is a ship in a bottle, or SIB as it is refered to these days. An SIB has always intrigued people through the ages. So, lets go a little deeper into this.

Unfortunately nothing is known about the first maker of a ship in a bottle. The oldest ship in a bottle (SIB), as far as we know, was made in 1784 in Italy by Gioni Biondo and this SIB was donated by' Captain Kruger of Lubeck to the 'Museum fiir Kunst und Kulturgeschichte der Hansestadt Lubeck' in Germany. It is said that this SIB is a so-called ship-owner's model, which was made by a professional model builder. The SIB is numbered 7357 in the museum list. It is probably a Turkish or a Portuguese three-masted warship. It is put in an egg­-shaped bottle, which is placed upside down over a wooden stand.

There are several ways to put a ship inside a bottle. The simplest way is to rig the masts of the ship and raise it up when the ship is inside the bottle. Masts, spars, and sails are built separately and then attached to the hull of the ship with strings and hinges so the masts can lie flat against the deck. The ship is then placed inside the bottle and the masts are pulled up using the strings attached to the masts. The hull of the ship must still be able to fit through the opening. Bottles with minor distortions and soft tints are often chosen to hide the small details of the ship such as hinges on the masts.
Alternatively, with specialized long-handled tools, it is possible to build the ship inside the bottle. This interesting card was sent to me by Marian.

Sochi

Further to my post on 13th July 2012, here is another card from Sochi sent to me by Sveta. A little information about this Russian city can be got from the post mentioned by me.