My Christmas post

This year, the Austrian post was really generous: Because I bought a lot of stamps, they sent me one of their Christmas stamps with the special cancellation (first picture).

The second card is from my postwoman - a small thank you. There was a stamp in the card, and the card encouraged to send some greetings... Well, you don't have to encourage a postcrosser, but thanks for the stamp. I will use it soon, I promise ;) The stamp is from a formula 1 champions series and the walking mailbox is from the new ads of Austrian Post.

And this card came with the postage already printed on - and says Christmas mail for you.

Thank you, Post. But I have to say, I really deserve your presents as I use your services frequently and get annoyed by you regularely...The most recent news from your employees was that you are going to raise the postage fee next year - you don't know yet what one will have to pay for a postcard then, but nontheless you decided to stop printing the 75 cent stamps...so I either have to buy those that are still available or annoy my overseas postcrossing friends with the huge variety of € 1,40 stamps (Flugfeld Wiener Neustadt, Austrian Airlines, Schiele or flowers) - as I usually put a 65 and a 75 cent stamp on my cards.

So, we will see what the mail future holds...

Anyway, to those of you celebrating: HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Cape Cod's favorite seafood!

Mmmhhh...I never had lobster on Cape Cod, just scallops, but I had lobster in Maine...Anyway, the card says: "The American lobster is born and bred only in the waters of the North Atlantic. It turns bright red only when cooked, but is dark blue-green when alive. It takes about six years for a lobster to weigh one pound. Native lobsters are trapped by small boats quite close to shore on the rocky bottom of the waters along the Massachusetts coast."

Thanks to Jen, who sent the card for a monthly RR (not sure, but I think OctoberRR).

Rhode Island

This card arrived for the October RR from elemenopy. It shows the Old Slater Mill that "was built in Pawtucket, RI in 1793. It was the first factory in America to produce cotton yarn successfully with water powered machinery. Its three buildings, dam, power canal and Riverside Park, is a Registered National Landmark. The site offers a wide range of guided tours to schools, and the public."

Thank you, I'm sure it's a great place to visit!

Recipes again!

For the last few days, I spent a lot of time on different recipe pages and forums to get some ideas for the Christmas dinner. So I thought it very appropriate to dedicate this post to recipe cards! Both cards arrived for the October RR.

The first one is from anjaaustel and was signed by the members of the Hamburg postcrossing meeting (23.10.10). I love meetup cards, and I. Elf recipe cards, too!

And Southern cornbread from cardiffgal!

Enjoy!

Animal post

This is an official postcrossing card PT-143178. What a relaxed cow, enjoying all her green grass...

Four seasons

I love this card! Ekintheusa sent it for the Vacation RR #114. Thank you!

Bella Italia

Most of my Italian cards were sent by Edo. And this one is no exception. For the NDC RR #100 he chose this view of Siena, Tuscany. The historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I have never been there but I definitely plan to visit one day!

Thanks Edo, your cards are always a nice surprise!

Vacation RR #113

The vacation RR is a wonderful opportunity to travel around! Here is the beautiful card Trupti chose for me while being on vacation in the Dominican Republic. And she had quite a hard life there - sitting on the beach and enjoying a rum and coke.

I would love to sit on a beach right now as it is so cold outside, far too windy, which makes it even colder... Thank you Trupti for your card!

Introducing tags!

Here is one of my first postcards I have received in a postcard tag! I read about tags quite frequently on other blogs, but never participated in one. Then I found two Austrian tags and I just had to join! I try to tag once a month on the Austrian tags. This card - which makes we want to drive to the airport and jump on a plane - was for the Austria x Far East Tag and was sent by happyiyi86.

The text on the card says "Nature's treasures are everywhere to be found on the tropical islands of Malaysia." Thank you so much for the beautiful card!

Chocolate Kisses

I received this card twice in one week, one from kotona for the October RR and the other one from postmuse. Thank you, I love chocolate :)

There is a small text on the back of the card thaht says: "Hershey's Kisses (R) chocolates were first introduced by the Hershey Chocolate Company on July 1, 1907, in what is now the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania. The plume, or the flag, was added fourteen years later."

I never had these chocolates, but I hope to try them one day!

A new mascot card

If you follow my blog, you know that I like all kinds of sports cards. So I was really happy to find Brutus Buckeye in my mailbox. He came with the official card US-880568. Brutus is the official mascot of the Ohio State University.

I really like mascots, but unfortunately they are not so common here in Austria. My football (soccer for my US friends) team had a bear once, but it was named after a former club president and after he left the club the mascot disappeared, too. I am waiting for a new one, but I guess we won't get a new one soon. But maybe I will receive some more US mascots *hint, hint*...

Gent

Here is a card I sent to myself from my recent Belgium mini-vacation! We visited Brussels and had far to much chocolate, then drove around by car. We visited Gent and of course the beautiful city of Brugge.

Gent is also a really nice city, but unfortunately is was one big construction site as they worked on their public transport system. But maybe I have to chance to go back there and see what it looks like when the project is finished!

Futbol

Spanish football time today! The first card shows Estadio El Sardinero, a multi-purpose stadium in Santander, Spain. It is currently used mostly for football matches, holding 22,400 people. This stadium is also a possible candidate venue for Spain-Portugal's 2018 World Cup Bid. The card was sent by earwen for the Vacation RR # 114.

And this card (sent by Duplevista for the October RR) shows a map of Spanish football clubs!

Thank you for sending me some great football cards - I love it!

Flags

I really like flag-cards and so I was especially happy to find the two cards in my mailbox for the October RR.

The first card shows the flag of Brazil and was sent by Tarcisio. Here is some more information on the flag:" The blue disc depicts a starry sky spanned by a curved band inscribed with the national motto, within a yellow rhombus, on a green field. The green field and the yellow rhombus from the previous imperial flag were preserved – the green and yellow colors representing the Braganza-Habsburg dynasty (Pedro I of Barzil and his wife, Maria Leopoldina of Austria). A blue circle with 27 white five-pointed stars replaced the arms of the Empire of Brazil. The stars, whose position in the flag reflect the sky over Rio de Janeiro on November 15, 1889, represent the union's federated units – each star representing a specific state. The motto "Ordem e Progresso" ("Order and Progress") is inspired by Auguste Comte's motto of positivism: "L’amour pour principe et l’ordre pour base; le progrès pour but" ("Love as a principle and order as the basis; progress as the goal")." (Source: wikipedia.)

The second card shows the Swiss flag and was sent by azzurri! The flag of Switzerland is one of only two square sovereign-state flags, the other being the flag of the Vatican City. It consists of a red flag with a white Greek cross (a bold, equilateral cross) in the centre. (source: wikipedia)

German stamps

Here are some fantastic stamps I found on my postcards lately. They are from the Udo Lindenberg collection the Deutsche Post issued this year. Udo Lindeberg is a famous German singer and songwriter (find out more on wikipedia: click). They stamps each show a song by Udo Lindenberg. The first one is "Sonderzug nach Pankow", the other one "Andrea Doria".

Greetings from Germany

The first card was sent by RikeH for the New Different Countries RR #100. I can't believe I've already hosted 100 groups! That's a lot of sent and received cards, though we had enough cheaters, too. But I guess you have to live with that. The card shows some popular places in Frankfurt, a city I'm very fond of. I've lived in a small city near Frankfurt for my Erasmus semester and we went there a few times. I really like Frankfurt, especially the combination of old houses in the city center and the modern skyscrapers of banks and insurence companies. When I lived in Germany, Europe's new currency € has been newly released then and I remember walking to the European Central Bank and looking at the huge € statue. Since then, many new countries have joined the Europeam Union and some have adopted the currency - I'm waiting for the first Estonian Euro coins in my hands!

The other card is an official postcrossing card (DE-727876) from Augsburg. And a very interesting one with a typo. The card says "Impessionen" in the lower right corner, but the correct version would be Impressionen.
Thank you, senders, for your cards!

Flowery cards

Two very cute cards found their way into my mailbox. The first is an Italian postcrossing card (IT-107278) and of course it's an Anne Geddes card.

The second card with smiley-bees and smiley-flowers arrived from the Netherlands (NL-453380).

Both cards made me smile! Thank you!

Vacation spot

This card shows many popular vacation spots along the Croatian coast. I've just been to Croatia once since it became an independent state and that was in 1994. Maybe it's time for another visit?

The card was sent by ddonkey for the vacation RR #114. Thank you!

An Interesting Museum

This card for the September RR shows an interesting museum, the Museu da Cachaça. It displays bottles of Cachaça, a typical beverage made from sugar canes.

Cheers, Xiru!

Sun Moon Lake

I've already received a few cards showing Sun Moon Lake and all were really beautiful. So is this card showing the Lalu Island and sadyyy, this card's sender, says it is one of her favorite scenes from this lake.

This card was a return card for "my" vacation group #114, Vienna. Thank you!

Vacation RR

This card shows a fresco in the Abbaye De Saint-Savin, one of the less well known UNESCO sites in France, according to the sender nyassa. I signed up for this group because we had the chance to get a card with an interior view instead of the more common views from the outside of a church.

L'alphabet de Paris

Here's a card showing the Paris Alphabet - each letter stands for a typical landmark or other things associated with Paris/France. I have visited A, D, G, J, M, N, S and of course T.

I just wonder why they did not use "croissant" as a C, because to me, dog is not as French as Croissant. Anyway, merci à nathj92 for sending this card for the OctoberRR.

Swiss RAS

Welcome, winter! They just said in the radio that it's snowing in Carinthia, so I thought this card showing Swiss snowy mountains is appropriate!

Thank you, Zasa, for sending me this RAS!

Poland Map

This round-shaped map card was sent by exmellie for the October RR. She picked it up during her vacations in Poland. Thank you!

Tags

I have recently started with postcard-tags and here are two of the cards I received. The first one is from the "Austria meets Far East-tag". It shows Hong Village in Yixian County and was sent by Xiaowen.

The second card is from the "Scandinavia x world-tag" and was sent by Starlight.

Taiwan

I would really like to know if the colors are real on this card or if they have been digitally enhanced. The card shows Danshuei at night and is an official postcrossing card (TW-202884).

Leaning tower

I love this card! It looks quite dramatic with the clouds. The card is from MaHaKo's Italy Roadtrip (vacationRR #104) and shows the Piaza dei Miracoli in Pisa.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the campanile (freestanding bell tower) of the cathedral of Pisa and located on Piazza del Duomo (also known, since 20th century, as Piazza dei Miracoli).

Although intended to stand vertically, the tower began leaning to the southeast soon after the onset of construction in 1173 due to a poorly laid foundation and loose substrate that has allowed the foundation to shift direction.
In 1964 the government of Italy requested aid in preventing the tower from toppling. It was, however, considered important to retain the current tilt, due to the vital role that this element played in promoting the tourism industry of Pisa. A multinational task force of engineers, mathematicians and historians gathered on the Azores islands to discuss stabilization methods. It was found that the tilt was increasing in combination with the softer foundations on the lower side. Many methods were proposed to stabilize the tower, including the addition of 800 metric tonnes of lead counterweights to the raised end of the base.
In 1987 the tower was declared as part of the Piazza del Duomo UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the neighbouring cathedral, baptistery and cemetery.
On January 7, 1990 the tower was closed to the public. The bells were removed to relieve some weight, and cables were cinched around the third level and anchored several hundred metres away. The final solution to prevent the collapse of the tower was to slightly straighten the tower to a safer angle, by removing 38 cubic metres of soil from underneath the raised end. The tower was straightened by 45 centimetres, returning to its 1838 position. After a decade of corrective reconstruction and stabilization efforts, the tower was reopened to the public on December 15, 2001, and was declared stable for at least another 300 years.
In May 2008, after the removal of another 70 metric tons of earth, engineers announced that the Tower had been stabilized such that it had stopped moving for the first time in its history. (source)

Vacation RR again

What a lovely card! That's how I imagine a typical five o'clock tea in a landscaped garden. I've been to the UK twice but never managed to have a real tea-time. Oh, I would love to try that once and choose some little sandwiches or scones. Though I'm not so sure about trying clotted cream. There is the recipe for clotted cream on the back of the card - I had no idea what clotted cream really is, I always thought it's kind of a whipped cream. But apparently it takes almost 24 hours to make this clotted cream from a mixture of double cream and milk.

Thank you Videl for sending me this card for the VacationRR #114!

Sweet Lotus Roots

This official Chinese card (CN-266755) shows Sweet Lotus Roots. Lotus Roots are root vegetables that grow under water. On this card you can see this traditional snack: The roots are filled with glutinous rice and cooked in sugar.

The dish looks interesting and I think it might be worth a try.

Malaysia

I love these Malaysian cards with the little flag on the front - I have already received a few of them and all were really beautiful cards! This nightscene is really amazing, the Mosque with the deep blue background! On one of the other Malaysian cards you can also see the Mosque, but from a different angle. The mosque is called the "Floating" Kuala Ibai Mosque.

Thank you kkkhov for sending me this official card (MY-48657).

Burghausen

This official card arrived yesterday after travelling 224 km!

There was no text on the card, but a cute drawing by a 5 year old girl. I guess it's a duck, but I'm not really an expert ;)

Danke!

Chinatown

Here is a card showing Winnipeg's Chinatown. I've never visited a Chinatown, but I'm sure it must be an interesting experience.

This is an official postcrossing card CA-126616.

Essen

This card arrived for the Turkey x world RR #100 from Apperveilchen and shows the European Cultural Capital 2010. There is also an older post about this city if you are interested in more information.

Danke!

Another Metro Station

I have already received some beautiful Moscow metro stations and here is a new one! It shows the "Aviamotornaya" station. The architecture is inspired by aviation and engines!

This card is an official postcrossing card (RU-228492).

Cheese-Mouse

This super cute card arrived twice in a week! First from cindy79, then from MarianneJS - both times for the OctoberRR. Thank you!

Handmade!

I really like handmade cards and this cute one arrived for the OctoberRR from reader22. The caterpillars look exactly like the one from a famous children's book!


Thank you, Anne Marie!

Beautiful Kyiv!

Both cards are from a postcards series called "Beautiful Kyiv". And the cards really look beautiful. The first card shows the Puppet Theatre and Aqua Informational Center. It was sent by mindanao for the October RR.

A few days later arrived this card, showing the Dinamo Stadium, the monument to V. Lobanvsky and in the big picture, the view of "Olimpiysky" Stadium. This card was for the Vacation RR #114 (Vienna) and sent by snowyflake.

Thank you both for the cards!

Vacation RR

This card was sent by mad_madchen from her vacation in Tula, Russia. It shows an ancient samovar, used in former days when travelling.

Thank you, Julia!

Baseball

This card was sent by krhocevar for the August RR and shows the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

The card came with interesting facts on the back: "Construction on the Rogers Centre started in April 1986, and the Blue Jays played their first game there three years later. In addition to baseball, the Rogers Centre hosts the Canadian Football League. Opening or closing the roof takes only 20 minutes. The roof was closed during a game twice in the Blue Jays' first year in the dome, and four or five times a year since then. Opening the roof requires that two panels slide over each other and into a section behind center field. A third panel, which starts behind the plate, rotates on a circular rail. The whole roof is 339,343 square feet and weighs 11,000 tons. When closed, the Rogers Centre could hold a 31-story building, making it almost twice as high above the field as Minnesota's Metrodome. A 650-seat restaurant rises above the center-field fence, and a 300-foot-long bar, sits atop that. The Hard Rock Cafe features some tables with a view of the field, as well."