North Sea seal

The North Sea is home to marine mammals. Common seals, and Harbour porpoises can be found along the coasts, at marine installations, and on islands. The very northern North Sea islands such as the Shetland Islands are occasionally home to a larger variety of pinnipeds including bearded, harp, hooded and ringed seals, and even walrus. North Sea cetaceans include various porpoise, dolphin and whale species.

A virus, which cost the lives of 18,000 seals on Germany's North Sea coast in 1988 has turned up on German shores again this week. It poses a fatal threat to the seals and ecology of Europe’s unique North Sea mud flats.

The North Sea seal population is in serious danger.  The seal is a sociable animal. But the creature's friendly habits are now costing it its life. Experts say that viruses have little trouble spreading fast among seal populations.

Indeed, in 1988, the Phocine Distemper Virus (PDV) cost the lives of 18,000 seals on Germany’s North Sea cost, effectively wiping out some 60 per cent of the area’s seal population. There are now fresh signs that the environmental nightmare is seeing an unwelcome revival. The first dead seals with the lethal virus were discovered two months ago in Kattegat, just off the Danish island Anholt. Since then 2000 animals have fallen victim to the deadly disease off the Scandinavian coast, and the first five infected seals were washed up on German shores this week.

The present crisis is almost a repitition of the virus-outbreak scenario, 14 years ago. The 1988 epidemic, the first to have been reported since researchers counted some 37,000 seals living in the North Sea’s mud flats back in 1900, was sparked by arctic seals. They are believed to have been suffering from Russian and Scandinavian overfishing and looking for nutrition way beyond the boundaries of their natural habitat.

The PDV virus befalls lungs and respiratory organs and bacterial infections bacteria follow. As parasites spread easily to other body organs, the seal dies a slow, and painful death. While arctic seals are able to live with the PDV virus, the North Sea seal’s population are defenceless against this relatively new epidemic, as they lack the necesary antibodies. In addition, weakened by a steady increase in marine pollution, these animals now stand little chance of survival.

Thank you Joachim for this card, because such seals may be extinct soon.

Klaipėda

Klaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Danė River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County. This nice card of the city wassent to me by Rasa who now lives in England.

The city has a complex recorded history, partially due to the combined regional importance of the Port of Klaipėda, a usually ice-free port on the Baltic Sea, and the Akmena – Danė River. It has been controlled by the Teutonic Knights, the Duchy of Prussia, the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire, the Entente States immediately after World War I, Lithuania as a result of the 1923 Klaipėda Revolt, and the Third Reich following the 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania. The city was incorporated into Lithuania during its tenure as a Soviet Socialist Republic and has remained within Lithuania following its re-establishment as an independent state.

The population shrank from 207,100 in 1992 to 177,823 in 2011, mostly due to the moving to the suburbs of the city. Popular seaside resorts found close to Klaipėda are Nida to the south on the Curonian Spit, and Palanga to the north.

Saranta Kolones Castle

Merja, thank you. This is a very memorable card. The Byzantine castle known as Saranta Kolones (Forty Columns) is located just north of the harbour of Pafos (Paphos). It takes its name from the large number of granite columns that were found on the site and probably once formed part of the ancient agora.

The castle is believed to have been built at the end of the 7th century AD to protect the port and the city of Nea Pafos from Arab raids and later remodeled by the Lusignans.

A three-metre thick wall with eight towers and a moat surrounded the castle. Access was across a wooden bridge spanning the moat. The square courtyard measured 35 metres long by 35 metres wide, with a tower at each corner. The main entrance was through a fifth, horseshoe-shaped tower on the east side. Destroyed by an earthquake in 1223, the castle was subsequently abandoned.

Peasant ships carrying timber in 1804

Thank you Dear Merja for this pretty card. The card depicts a painting of Finnish peasant ships carrying timber in 1804. The original painting is displayed in the Maritime Museum of Finland.

Bad Hamm in Westfalen

Hamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of December 2003 its population was 180,849. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway. Hamm railway station is an important hub for rail transport and renowned for its distinctive station building.

The name Ham means "corner" in the old Low German dialect spoken at that time. In the old times the name thom Hamme would be used, which evolved slowly into its modern form Hamm. The name derives from the description of the Hamm's location in the corner of the Lippe river and the narrow Ahse affluent, where it was founded on Ash Wednesday in March 1226 by Count Adolf I of the Mark

My friend Steffi sent me this lovely card.

Kolossi Castle

Kolossi Castle is a former Crusader stronghold 14 kilometres (9 mi) west of the city of Limassol on the island of Cyprus. It held great strategic importance and contained facilities for the production of sugar, one of Cyprus's main exports in the Middle Ages. The original castle was possibly built in 1210 by the Frankish military, when the land of Kolossi was given by King Hugh III to the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (Hospitallers), The present castle was built in 1454 by the Hospitallers. Dwellers in the castle include the Templars and the already mentioned Hospitallers.

The castle consists of a tower known as a keep with an attached rectangular enclosure or bailey about 30 by 40 metres (98 by 130 ft).

A fine example of military architecture originally constructed in the13th century and subsequently rebuilt in its present form in the middle of the 15th century. It served first as the Grand Commandery of the Knights Templar, and after the fall of Acre in 1291 for some years, as the headquarters of the Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.
Kolossi and its castle are directly connected with a number of important events, which constitute various interesting folds of the agelong and stormy history of Cyprus.
In 1191 Richard the Lionheart of England conquered Cyprus after it had been ruled by Isaac Commenus. Isaac Comnenus was the Byzantine Governor of Cyprus who declared himself an independent ruler of Cyprus and would not assist Richard and the Crusaders.

This historic card was given to me by my friend Merja.

Wisła

Wisła is a town in Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, with a population of about 11,810 (2006), near the border with Czech Republic in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. It is situated in the Silesian Beskids mountain range. Wisła is the Polish name for the Vistula River, which has its source in the mountains near the town.

Located near the national tourist centre Ondraszek, Wisła is a popular year-round tourist destination, with the nearby mountains favoured by ski jumpers. It is known for being the home town of ski jumper Adam Małysz, and for the fact that it is the only town in Poland with a majority Protestant population.

Wisła is also the home of the Beskid Museum, on B. Hoff square. It has on display agricultural tools, folk costumes and goatskin bagpipes from the surrounding region.

In Wisła a trail starts that leads to the Stożek Wielki, a mountain on the border with the Czech Republic that reaches a height of 978 meters.  This pretty card was sent to me by Agnieszka.